Why Chelle picked injured Osimhen for Super Eagles’ AFCON qualifiers, Russia friendly

The head coach of the Super Eagles, Eric Chelles, sprang a big surprise when he included the injured Victor Osimhen in his squad for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations, AFCON, qualifiers.

Osimhen has been out of action since September 4, when he suffered an injury to his right groin.

It led to doubts about him being available for Nigeria’s games against Madagascar on September 25 and Guinea-Bissau four days later.

Osimhen’s possible return for Galatasaray was pencilled in against Trabzonspor on September 19.

But as at Thursday, he was still training separately from the main group, completing an individual gym session with Mario Lemina.

Both players were considered unlikely to travel for the Trabzonspor match.

That leaves Osimhen with no competitive appearance since September 4 before Nigeria’s first qualifier.

Although Chelle has not given any explanations for why he picked Osimhen, the Eagles coach is eyeing the possibility of having his first-choice striker available later in the international window.

The other centre-forward options in the squad are Tolu Arokodare, Akor Adams and George Ilenikhena.