Slavia Prague manager Jindrich Trpisovsky has provided an update on the potential availability of Super Eagles defender Igoh Ogbu for Tuesday’s UEFA Champions League showdown with last season’s finalists Inter Milan, Footynaija.com reports.
Ogbu, sidelined with a strain injury, has not featured for Slavia Prague since the start of September, with his last appearance for the Czech champions coming in a 3-1 1. Liga victory over Mlada Boleslav back in August.
The Nigeria international’s injury has forced him to miss Slavia’s last five matches, including a thrilling 2-2 draw with Bodo/Glimt in the Champions League a couple of weeks ago and unfortunately, he will be watching from the treatment room once more when his teammates rock up to the Guiseppe Meazza to take on Inter Milan.
“All those who are healthy and on the roster for the Champions League are going,” Trpisovsky said in quotes revealed by Efotbal.
“We will definitely miss Ogbu and Holeš [Tomas], which is a big hit, but young boys like Tomáš Vlček, David Zima and Štěpán Chaloupek show that they are proficient representatives of these leaders and should replace them well.
“We’ve been through a virus that should be behind us by now. We believe that it will not affect anyone anymore.”
Ogbu’s absence for a game of this magnitude is without doubt a huge blow for Slavia Prague and their hopes of gathering enough points to at least progress beyond the UCL league phase, having failed to manage such a feat in the Europa League last season.
Slavia’s current form is impressive, with seven wins and three draws from their last ten matches across all competitions. However, going away to Inter Milan will most likely provide a sterner test than any they’ve faced in the course of their unbeaten run.
