Victor Osimhen has assured Nigerians that he will be available for the Africa Cup of Nations starting next month.
The Napoli striker made this known via his Twitter account on Tuesday.
With the dust of whether the Africa Cup of Nations will go on as planned over, Jurgen Klopp might as well continue on a plan for Liverpool, while national team coaches go ahead with arrangements for the competition.
There had been concerns over the readiness of the host country Cameroon to host the competition. On Tuesday, Confederation of African Football chief Patrice Motsepe allayed fears of a postponement. Motsepe declared that AFCON would go on as planned.
There had been a real fear of an interruption due to the Micron variant of COVID-19, causing threats from the European Club Association (ECA) to block its players from participating in the competition.
With the Super Eagles of Nigeria plagued with injuries, Victor Osimhen has assured Nigerians that there was nothing to fear as he would be available to lead Nigeria’s attack at the Africa Cup of Nations.
Osimhen declares availability for AFCON
Nigeria’s plan for the Africa Cup of Nations was thrown in disarray on November 21 with injury to Victor Osimhen. The Napoli striker was involved in a clash of heads with Inter Milan defender Milan Skriniar leading to a fractured left cheekbone and orbit. Unlike Humpty Dumpty, the medics at Napoli were able to put Osimhen together again via a complicated but successful surgery.
The result of the surgery meant Osimhen would be sidelined for three months, thereby missing AFCON. There have been magnificent progress in his recovery process, bringing hopes of leading Nigeria’s attack in Cameroon.
With the competition set to kick off on January 9, Osimhen has made a bold declaration ending doubts over his availability for AFCON. Osimhen confirmed he would be available to lead Nigeria’s attack at the Africa Cup of Nations next month.
Quick recovery and hope raised
The initial prognosis for Osimhen’s return to action was gloomy, and after several changes, the Napoli striker was due a January 6 return date. It still placed his AFCON availability in doubt. Things have, however, changed with the striker making a quick return ahead of the planned date.
Osimhen has resumed individual training just two weeks after his surgery and is on course to be fully fit before the competition commences.
With talk generally centred around his availability and effectiveness when he returns, Osimhen took to Twitter to assure his fans that he would be in Cameroon. The Nigerian forward allayed all fears and declared that the only way he would miss the competition was if dropped from players selected to represent the country in Cameroon.
Osimhen’s recovery and declaration come to the Super Eagles coach Augustine Eguavoen like cold water to a thirsty soul. The interim boss, who recently took over from Gernot Rohr, put a lot of faith in the 22-year-old striker and will need him fully fit for Nigeria to make a successful assault for their fourth title.
The Super Eagles play their first match against the Pharaohs of Egypt on January 11, two days after the commencement of the competition.
This article was most recently revised and updated 3 years ago
