The 23-year-old midfielder will play no part in the Super Eagles’ October games against the Elephants and Carthage Eagles
Leicester City midfielder Wilfred Ndidi has been ruled out of Nigeria’s friendlies against Cote d’Ivoire and Tunisia after suffering a groin injury in the Foxes’ 4-2 victory over Burnley.
Ndidi was among the 25-man squad for the encounter billed to strengthen the country for the next rounds of the 2022 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Sierra Leone in November.
The 23-year-old played the full 90 minutes on Sunday evening as Brendan Rodgers’ men silenced the Clarets at the King Power Stadium, but he will not be part of the game billed for Austria.
In a chat with Goal, Super Eagles’ media officer Toyin Ibitoye confirmed this development.
“Of course, Ndidi is injured and has been ruled out of the games against Tunisia and Cote d’Ivoire,” said Ibitoye.
Meanwhile, coach Gernot Rohr is expected to name a replacement for the injured midfield trojan.
Since the beginning of the 2020-21 campaign, the ex-Genk man has featured in a defensive role for Rodgers’ men with Caglar Soyuncu. This was following the unavailability of Wes Morgan, Jonny Evans and Filip Benkovic.
The Northern Irish tactician had stated the centre-back role will not be permanent as Ndidi would return to his natural position when the defenders overcome their injury and suspension worries.
“Wilf is a player that I have real confidence in,” Rodgers told the media.
“He played the position [centre-back] very well and he has the attributes to play there. We don’t want him there for a long period of time.”
The is the first time Ndidi has suffered from a groin injury and the news will be particularly worrying for Leicester, with the youngster starting the season on a solid note.
Although the length of his recuperation is unknown, he will be unavailable when his team take on Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s Arsenal in Wednesday’s English League Cup encounter as well as Sunday’s mouth-watering Premier League matchup against Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium.
The onus could fall on Austria’s Christian Fuchs who is yet to play a game this season. As it stands, Leicester sit at the top end of the league after accruing six points from two games played so far.
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