Nigeria defender Tyronne Ebuehi says he is happy with his improved fitness after making his second pre-season friendly match appearance for his Portuguese club, Benfica, in a 1-0 win against Italian giants, AC Milan on Sunday night at the Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, reports Completesports.com.
Ebuehi took the place of Alex Grimaldo in the 73rd minute of the highly entertaining encounter. Benfica’s solitary match winner was scored by Adel Taarabt in the 70th minute.
“It was a good preseason game , everyone has to be fit for the new season, and this is a big tournament where great teams are present,” Ebuehi told Benfica website after the match.
“I played a little, but I think well, it was 20 minutes, and for me it’s step by step. I was injured a year [ago] and I have to stay calm. I am happy to be back, I already missed playing football and I am happy to be back in the team.”
On his readiness to play 90 minutes after that long injury-induced layoff, Ebuehi says he is close to doing just that but certainly not in a hurry.
“I feel like I’m close, but I can’t rush things , and the important thing is to stay calm, because it was a very serious injury. Of course, I want to play [in the Super Cup]. I know I can play, but as I said, I have to stay calm and you’ll soon see. I know everything will go well and everything will be as before.
“The fans are fantastic and they motivate the whole team, me too. Benfica is a great club, I was expecting, but it’s fantastic!,” Ebuehi concluded.
The former ADO Den Haag of the Netherlands defender earlier featured in the 3-0 friendly win against Mexican side, Guadalajara. He came in as a 79th minute substitute for Nuno Tavares in the game.
Benfica have now rounded off their pre-season games for the 2019/2020 campaign and will now shift attention to Sunday’s Portuguese Super Cup clash against Sporting Lisbon which will hold at the Estádio Do Algarve.
Ebuehi ruptured his cruciate ligament in training last summer few weeks after his well celebrated move from ADO Den Haag and spent the entire season on the sidelines.
The 23-year-old was part of Nigeria’s squad to the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia.
He missed out on a place in the squad that came third at the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations due to the injury.
By Adeboye Amosu
8 Comments
Oh! My man is back. May you have a fruitful, injury free and rewarding season.
The right full back cum right wing back for the Super Eagles is yours for the taking
Good news you are back. Hope you are able to fight for your shirt in club and country. Wishing you an injury-free season.
A very good and highly technical right full back/wing back.But I doubt if he will be a regular for Nigeria as long as Gernot Rohr is still incharge going by Rohr’s proclivity for rather playing physical players as his defenders.
The injury to this guy (Ebuehi), Samuel Kalu and Jamiliu Collins affected Nigeria at the last Afcon. These 3 guys were sure starters for the SE and the only matches Kalu and Collins were fit and played in, we saw the immediate impacts. Rohr wasn’t so lucky with players fitness in the last Afcon. Welcome back Ebuehi; this is hoping you hit 100% soon and reach and surpass the skill levels that made us all fall in love with you. With these guys as SE starters plus a good goalkeeper (and goalkeeper trainer in place of Alloy Agu), and someone to really compete with Iwobi in the number 10 role and main striker in the mould of Yekini or Aghahowa, the SE will reach the height and fearsomeness of the 1994 squad again.
I agree with you 100% that Iwobi needs a challenger in the number 10 role also is ndidi and etebo, this can make them to always up their game.
@Kel, I disagree with you. The players he took to Afcon was good enough to win the tournament.
Forget about the injured players.
Coach Rohr took his best players to Russia, what happened in the end?
Please let call a spade a spade. The coach is not good enough period. God bless Nigeria!!!
@Omo9ja, you attack Oga Rohr almost at every article. Is that the way forward? It seems Rohr is gonna stay. Can you please suggest the way forward to better Naija football?
If there are Nigerians who celebrate Buhari abd the APC madness and mediocrity, I will nor be suprise to find nigerians whi are ready to die for Rhor even Pinnick talking about sending him on arefresher course to Germany.
I am so ashamed to be a black man.
Imagine a professor of law deputizing for a man with no WAEC certificate, or a CJN with only 3 credits excluding English and mathematics, and a fake degree in Islamic law, what a hopeless nation.
Rhor is surely one of the problems of the SE, in any other country but a black African country he would have been relegated to the home eagles to serve out his contract or forced to resign.