Sadiq suffers hamstring injury – TimesNG.com.ng

Nigeria striker Sadiq Umar is facing up to eight weeks on the sidelines after suffering a hamstring injury with Valencia, PUNCH Sports Extra reports.

The 29-year-old limped out of their training session on Monday, a  day after completing the full 90 minutes in Valencia’s 3-1 defeat to newly promoted Deportivo La Coruña, where he scored his side’s only goal.

“Following the tests carried out, it has been observed that the player Sadiq Umar suffers from an injury to the right hamstring region, suffered in the match last Sunday against RC Deportivo de A Coruña,” the club said in a statement on Tuesday.

“The Valencia striker will follow a medical, physiotherapy and rehabilitation plan at the Sports City until clinical improvement, which will allow him to rejoin the rest of the team.”

The injury is a blow to Valencia and coach Carlos Corberán, with Umar having featured prominently for the Spanish club since the start of the campaign. Arnaut Danjuma and Hugo Duro are expected to shoulder more responsibility in his absence.

Umar’s injury could also rule him out of Nigeria’s 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying fixtures in September, although his absence may not significantly affect coach Éric Chelle’s plans.

The former Almería striker has not been a regular member of the Super Eagles under Chelle, who has several attacking options available, including Victor Osimhen, Akor Adams, Tolu Arokodare, Cyriel Dessers and Rafiu Durosinmi.

Umar’s latest setback comes after an injury-hit spell in recent years, and Valencia will now await further assessment to determine the full extent of the hamstring problem and his expected recovery time.

Meanwhile, the 29-year-old has not featured for Nigeria since November 2024 and has found himself further down the pecking order.

Speaking in an interview with RFI Hausa, the former Almeria striker admitted that retirement from international football is one of the options he is currently considering.

“Nobody called me. Maybe it’s not the kind of profile they wanted.

“I am thinking that maybe I should retire from the national team, by the grace of Allah. I’ll wait until the new season starts, then sit down and think about what I want to do next.”

Nigeria will face Madagascar at home in their first game of the 2027 AFCON qualifier on September 23 and Guinea-Bissau away four days later.