Seven Super Eagles Players Ruled Out of Russia Friendly as NFF Explains Withdrawals

Seven players have pulled out of the Super Eagles' friendly against Russia on Tuesday, and the Nigeria Football Federation has now explained why. The match is set for the Nizhny Novgorod Stadium.

Captain Wilfred Ndidi, Raphael Onyedika, Moses Usor, Victory Akpe, Bright Osayi-Samuel, Ridwan Abdulrasaq Popoola and Suleiman Mubarak will all miss the game. The NFF Media Department gave the reasons in a statement.

Two of the seven are out through injury. "Captain Wilfred Ndidi was knocked out by a small knock sustained during last week's 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying match against Guinea-Bissau," the statement said. It added that "Switzerland-based defender Victory Akpe has been stopped from flying to Russia by injury."

Three others were held back by their clubs. "Midfielder Raphael Onyedika was stopped from travelling to Russia by his German club, Eintracht Frankfurt. Defender Bright Osayi-Samuel and UAE-based midfielder Ridwan Abdulrasaq Popoola were stopped by their clubs," the NFF said.

Usor's withdrawal is a bit different. Head coach Éric Chelle called him up late after the squad began to thin out. The forward scored on his debut in the 2-1 win over Madagascar, but his Austrian club LASK have also said no, with the club wanting him back for their upcoming games. 

"Austria-based Moses Usor, who scored on his debut for Nigeria against Madagascar in Uyo on 25th September, not originally listed for the trip. However, when eventually he was requested by Head Coach Éric Chelle, LASK FC told him he should not fly to Russia," the statement read.

Slavia Prague forward Suleiman Mubarak was also in line to make his Super Eagles debut against Russia, but paperwork has stopped him. 

"Suleiman Mubarak, invited from Slavia Prague in Czechia, could not travel to Russia because his resident permit has not been secured," the statement concluded.

The wave of pull-outs is a big blow for Chelle, who is trying to get the team back to winning ways after the disappointing defeat to Guinea-Bissau.