Medically, these are not the best of times for Super Eagles Head Coach, Stephen Okechukwu Keshi, as the zero hour draws near for the naming of the 23-man squad for the CHAN African Nations Tourney starting January 11, 2014 in South Africa.
At the last count, four players have had knocks – two serious, two very negligible – to the extent that the medics have said if the technical crew picks from among them, there will be no medical issue at CHAN.
Those not on the watch list are Solomon ‘Cafu’ Kwambe, who had a good game against Gokana United on Saturday in Rivers State; and Umar Zango, the Kano Pillars central defender, who did not make the trip to the Port Harcourt, Rivers State friendly.
On the flip-side, serious worries have emerged over top striker, Gambo Mohammed, who also did not travel for the game in Port Harcourt; and Adeyinka Adedeji, who travelled for the game and was listed to start only to cop a hamstring injury while warming up for the start of proceedings.
The medics have however not given up on the two players, who incidentally have a similar case, but chances are 50-50, as the date for the naming of the final squad for the championship draws near.
“We have worries medically but we will wait till the last minute to see if the players can pull through,” Keshi said at the weekend.
The national team will on Monday morning tackle Nigerian league champions, Kano Pillars, at the main bowl of the Abuja National Stadium.
The Eagles have so far played four practice matches against local Nigerian sides, winning three and drawing one against Gokana United due largely to the poor state of the newly built stadium in Gokana.
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