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Nigeria coach Eric Chelle has played down concerns over Victor Osimhen’s absence as the Super Eagles prepare to face South Africa in a crunch 2026 World Cup qualifier on Tuesday night, Footynaija.com reports.
Osimhen limped off in the 35th minute of Saturday’s 1-0 win over Rwanda in Uyo after a blow to the chin, with Cyriel Dessers coming on in his place.
Despite efforts from the medical team, the striker did not recover in time to travel, with Chelle confirming the Galatasaray forward would miss the game in Bloemfontein.
The setback is significant as Osimhen has scored three goals in as many qualifiers, yet he will now sit out his fifth match of the campaign, having already missed fixtures against Lesotho, Zimbabwe, Benin and South Africa.
Even so, Chelle was in no mood to let the discussion linger on his star man.
“Osimhen is a big star, a very good player. Like I said, I have a strong squad too, with great players on my side. They are enough for me,” the coach said.
“I will tell you something, they want to play a great game here once again, so we don’t have the time to say Victor is not here or maybe we cried in our rooms after his injury. We are together. We think about our brother, but we have a game, and we are united for tomorrow.”
Nigeria have never lost to Bafana Bafana on South African soil since their first-ever meeting in a qualifier ahead of the 1994 World Cup.
