Leicester City manager Brendan Rodgers has spoken on the severity of the injuries suffered to two of his Nigerian players.
Wilfred Ndidi suffered an injury in the 60th minute of the Foxes' round of 16 victory over Stade Rennais in the UEFA European Conference League. The injury has been revealed to be a medial ligament injury but the duration of recovery is not yet known.
In the same tie, a recovering Ademola Lookman was subbed in for an injured Marc Albrighton in the 12th minute, but his legs could not hold up and he had to be subbed out 12 minutes from time.
Both players, alongside “Senior Man” Kelechi Iheanacho are key members of the Super Eagles squad that will be facing Ghana in a doubleheader fixture on 25 and 29 March for one of Africa's spots in the 23rd edition of the FIFA World Cup holding in Qatar later this year.
Nigerians approve Ndidi and Lookman duo
Nigerian fans are already expressing apprehension on the availability of both players. Wilfred Ndidi's is especially worrying because Ghana's Thomas Partey is currently in a good run of form and Ndidi's enforcer abilities are expected to match the Arsenal man's.
However, a little ray of hope has come through after Rodgers provided a fitness update on the injured players in his squad ahead of their Premier League fixture against Brentford on Sunday.
The Foxes are seated in 12th place on the Premier League table and are hoping to make it into the top half of the table for a chance at European football next season, and Rodgers' Nigerian players are especially important to that ambition.
“Ricardo Pereira and Ademola Lookman were guys who put themselves out there last night even though they weren't 100 per cent. They weren’t feeling well,” Rodgers said to Leicester City's official website.
“Both those players came into the game and gave their all for the team so they should still be available.”
However, the news about Ndidi is still worrisome as the former Celtic manager still says that there is no official news about the midfielder's situation.
“Wilfred Ndidi, we just have to assess him. He may have picked up an injury which may keep him out for a few weeks, which is a shame,” Rodgers said.
Ndidi's injury takes between four and six weeks to recover from and pending the official release from Leicester's medical staff, the 25-year-old is effectively ruled out against Ghana.
Ighalo continues hot form ahead of Nigeria-Ghana
Elsewhere, Al-Hilal of Saudi Arabia striker Odion Ighalo scored a hat-trick in the last League fixture for his club to continue his hot form.
Ighalo's return to the squad has been met with grumbles from Nigerian fans but he continues to prove why he is so trusted by Super Eagles handlers.
Alongside Sadiq Umar, the 32-year-old is Nigeria's most in-form attacker playing abroad.
The former Watford man showed how lethal he is in front of goal to scare the Super Eagles opponents, Ghana, ahead of their coming fixture. A first half hat-trick helped put the game to bed, before a fourth goal in the second half helped Al-Hilal to a 4-2 victory over Al-Ahly in the Saudi Pro League.
The hat trick makes it 19 goals in 24 league games for Ighalo across two clubs, which also places him as the league's top scorer. Ighalo has now scored seven goals in the last six games for Al-Hilal.
The win also made it the sixth in a row for Al Hilal.
This article was most recently revised and updated 2 years ago
