Ashleigh Plumptre has celebrated her return to action for the Super Falcons of Nigeria, reports Completesports.com.
Plumptre spent around six months on the sidelines after undergoing surgery for a foot injury in April.
The defender returned to action for her Saudi club, Al Ittihad in October.
The injury forced the centre-back to miss the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.
The former Leicester City centre-back was involved in the Super Falcons 2-1 friendly defeat to France last Saturday.
She took to the social media to express her happiness as well as linking up with her international teammates again.
“A long road back ,but was happy to meet with this bunch again ♥️,” she wrote on Facebook.
By Adeboye Amosu
4 Comments
We are glad she is fine now.
Love you
I thought it was a torrid night for Ashleigh Plumptre on her return to the team against France the other night.
I wasn’t surprised she played centre back for the first time for the Super Falcons in a long time: Madugu endeavours to play players in their traditional position unlike Waldrum.
But, did it work?
That left part of the defence was clearly a weak link for Nigeria throughout the game leading to both goals scored and one that was disallowed.
Was it all Plumptre fault?
In the world cup, Plumptre had Halimat Ayinde to help mask her (Plumptre) lack of pace and inadequate response timing.
Against France, Rafiat Imuran struggled. She couldn’t perform her role well let alone support Plumptre which left both of them badly exposed.
The absence of ubiquitous hard-as-nails Deborah Abiodun also compounded the problem.
Moving forward, wherever Ashleigh Plumptre is played, we need versatile defenders around her to help mop up threats and offer additional layers of support.
Or else Plumptre will end up being a liability. The fact she is a White Nigerian shouldn’t shield her from criticism.
I genuinely think Ashleigh Plumptre gets a generous pass from the Super Falcons fan base because she is a proud and enthusiastic White Nigerian.
On the ball, she is good and highly technical. But she can be suspect defensively. I don’t think playing in Saudi Arabia would help hone her defensive skills. If anything it has boosted her confidence on the ball and as a credible goal scorer.
But for Nigeria, we need her more to prevent goals rather than scoring goals, which is something of a concern.
@Deo, please, Which former Green Eagles player turned coach is called and also calls himself ‘the Moving Masquerade ‘?
Thank you
Question applies to other forumites who can help with answer please
Thank you all