Leicester City midfielder Wlifred Ndidi has pulled out of Nigeria’s friendlies against Cote d’l voire and Tunisia due to injury, reports Completesports.com.
Ndidi, Completesports.com learnt copped the injury in the Foxes’ league win against Burley on Sunday.
The 23-year-old is expected to miss Wednesday’s (today) Carabao Cup clash against Arsenal at the King Power Stadium.
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Super Eagles head coach Gernot Rohr is expected to name a replacement for the former Genk of Belgium star ahead of the games.
Granada of Spain midfielder Ramon Azeez is the only midfielder included on the standby list by Rohr.
The friendly fixtures against the Elephants and Carthage Eagles will hold on October 9 and 13 respectively in Austria.
24 Comments
Sad one for Ndidi, it’s time to bring on Kelechi Nwakali…..
Nnwakali is not in the stand by list . Meaning Ramon Azeez is the one midfielder who will take Ndidi’s place.
You’re right but we need players that can change or influence games this is where Kelechi comes in. For us to be a formidable team like Senegal or Brazil we need 11 game changers from the goal keeper to the striker…. players like Agu and Azeez is never enticing or appealing to me!
I am a regular reader of fans column here and I hardly make any comment, however guys talking about Kelechi Nwakali don’t really act like ones who understand the rule guiding football. As a matter of fact, if i may ask, How many games has Nwakali influenced for 3 years now? He has played in couple of clubs till date, he couldn’t tie down a regular shirt even at Porto B, I doubt if he can influence any game for now, based on form. He played for our u23 during olympic football qualification, he couldn’t qualify us single handedly, so how can he make a vehement impact for the national team.
The metric is simple, he is not presently in form, he has only played 20-30mins this season. He should wait for his time bro.
IMHO…
Well said Chidiebere
@Chidebere well said….apt
Onyeka/etebor/iwobi will be the 3combo in d midfield then some pple will understand that ndidi is slightly overated
If I were Rohr, I will bring in Tyrone Ebuehi and push Semi Ajayi into that DM role, since he has comfortably played that position before for his club.
You speak like a good coach. You very correct.
Awaziem, ajayi and lots of other players can fit in well in the DM, Its for the coach to decide. Judging by the last two friendly games against brazil and Ukraine, I think Rohr is ok with an Aribo, Ndidi and Iwobi combination in midfield. This friendly games are just to get the team in shape for the upcoming Qualifiers in November and to discover capable back up players.
Gernot Rohr can be forgiven for replacing injured Ndidi with another player who isn’t a defensive midfielder because he already has 3 viable options in the squad even in the absence of the Leicester City man.
Mikel Agu is the next choice and then you have Onyeka and Tijani all defensive midfielders by trade. Mikel Agu needs to come of age. He has been hanging in the peripheries of the Super Eagles for the past 3 years. He needs to assert himself in the team.
There are others like Ajayi, Awaziem who also moonlight as defensive midfielder.
So, as the current list is not short of defensive midfielders, I think any of the 5 players on standby can be called to replace Ndidi irrespective of their positions.
I am hoping Ebuehi could be slowly eased back into the team after coming back from his long term injury lay off.
There is a certain Alhassan Yusuf who dominates the midfield of IFK Goteborg of Sweden.Rohr should please bring him in as a late call up for the Tunisia and Coted’Ivoire friendlies. He can replace Wilfred Ndidi in the defensive midfield position or be moved to the attacking midfield. So sad Reading’s Ovie Ejaria has not been cleared by FIFA for these games.
I will like to have Ebuehi as a replacement for Ndidi…
Brendan Rodgers do not want Ndidi going to any of these friendlies
… I don’t think Ndidi is injured. Brendan Rogers does not want him attending the friendlies because Leicester has got a center back crisis at the moment. Probably he feels Ndidi will be risking a real injury attending those two games for SE. Let’s wait and see how they use him at his club… All of a sudden friendlies were announced and he became injured.
I think so too. In my opinion, I think players like Ndidi, Osimhen and Chukwueze can be left out these friendly games since we already know how they play. Sadiq wasnt given a chance to come stake a claim to the SE attacking role. More fringe players could also have been called up too just to see how they berth.
Hehehehehe…orisirisi. So because of 2 international friendlies coming up in 3 weeks time, Rodgers will lie that Ndidi is injured at a time he has a CB crisis and intentionally leave him out of a League cup match with Arsenal, and 5 EPL matches against Man city, West Ham, Aston Villa, Arsenal and Leeds….??? LMAO
……and possibly against Wolves, Liverpool, Fulham and Sheffeild….?? Just because he wants to make his so-called lie of 6-12 weeks injury look like the truth…?
The kind amebo jist wey person dey hear for CSN pass Mama emeka and Mama Ejiro own…LMAO
To think that Mama Ejiro will be the one bringing the jist to Mama Emeka is understandable but when Mama Emeka begins to add her own jara to the jist to make it sweet, then you know say e get why saloon is jist central database for Amebo.com. They are in CSN but for them mind them dey Saloon. Iberibe grade1
Ndidi played full match against Burnley. Did he get injured sleeping on his bed?
Leicester have CB crisis at the moment and Ndidi has been drafted as a makeshift CB, B. Rogers can’t afford to risk him playing for just a friendly match for his country. Mikel Agu and Etebo can be paired alongside Iwobi in Midfield. Moses Simon, Samuel and Osimhen can play front three. Problem solved.
@Abu, looking at the cotedevoir team full of stars. it will be thesame us that will be angered if the eagles eventualy lose the match. or do you think we are playing against a minor. the only player we have ahead of the ivorians is our top 9 osihmen, DM Ndidi(absent) and our coaching crew in terms of team comparism. and i believe their top 9 will not be a pushover aswell. looking at wings they have pepe and zaha and possibly juniho, of which these wingers are ahead of our wingers in the reality. there for moses and chukueze doesnt match wat their presenting in their wings. i will prefer ejuke and chukwueze to start ahead of the rest wingers bcos as we can see they are the most dangerouse wingers at the moment, in rohr disposal, exept ejuke proves my expectation wrong. moses simon and kalu should come in later on. some one also suggested ajayi in the dm position in absent of ndidi, i think that will be disrespect to the natural full DM we have in the team. i will suggest rohr to pick from the three guys available in that list, namely agu, onyeka and tijani. we may discover another ndidi among those three. i personaly want to see either onyeka or tijani.
all thesame their training will also determin their format. i pray Ndidi comes back soon we don dey miss am already. God bless Naijizi
Ndidi’s presence in midfield will be missed. He is the best in Africa.
Ndidi is a good player but I feel he is some how overrated.
Tell me another DM that matches him in Africa. You should ask leicester united fan his influence in the team and their results when he is missing from the team. Then you know if he is overrated
I totally agree with you that Ndidi is way overrated. Here is a player who, most of the time like he did in Nigeria’s Semi final match against Algeria in Afcon 2019 in Egypt, causes dangerous and unnecessary fouls just outside the 18 yards box, yielding costly free kicks to our opponents. Such was the situation in that match in Egypt which Riyad Mahrez took advantage of to score that free kick which prevented Nigeria from advancing to the Afcon final. In the same Afcon, he caused another dangerous free kick against Madagascar and the resultant free kick was deflected into Nigeria’s goal for Madagascar’s second goal. As far as I am concerned, Nigeria’s midfield can do well effectively without Ndidi.