Nigeria may be without forwards, Victor Osimhen and Samuel Chukwueze, when they host Lesotho in a 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifier at the Godswill Akpabio Stadium, Uyo.

Osimhen and Chukwueze were expected to return to top action last weekend, but feelers from Italy say their clubs, Napoli and AC Milan respectively, have deferred that to give them adequate time to recuperate.
 
Napoli FC coach, Rudi Garcia, has announced the return of Osimhen, who has been out of action for almost a month following a hamstring injury.
According to Garcia, Osimhen was expected to return to training yesterday, but would miss the Champions League game against Union Berlin.
  
Osimhen copped an injury when Nigeria met Saudi Arabia in a friendly game on October 13 in Portugal. Speaking at the club’s media parley on Tuesday, Garcia said Osimhen would return to action on November 25, which is nine days after Nigeria’s game against Lesotho.
 
Also expected to miss the game is Chukwueze.  Chukwueze was an unused substitute when AC Milan hosted Paris St. Germain in a Champions League game on Tuesday, but the Super Eagles Manager, Jose Peseiro, said he would not risk the former Villarreal star in the game against Lesotho.
 
He said: “We wish to avoid any risks, so Samuel Chukwueze and Victor Osimhen will not be called up during the next break.
 
“I apologised deeply for their injuries; players are paid by their clubs, and we work with them on a regular basis.”
 
In Osimhen and Chukwueze’s absence, the Eagles’ attack will be spearheaded by Victor Boniface and Taiwo Awoniyi. Sadiq Umar, Chuba Akpom, Terem Moffi, the rejuvenated Paul Onuachu and new kid on the block, Akor Adams, could also be handed the opportunity to stake their claim to the team’s striker’s roles.
Meanwhile, the Super Eagles have taken their search for a credible goalkeeper to Arsenal, where Nigeria’s Arthur Okonkwo is one of the shot stoppers.
 
Super Eagles’ current number one goalkeeper, Francis Uzoho, has been under fire since his mistake in Portugal gifted Saudi Arabia a goal during an international friendly.
 
Peseiro recently recalled Udinese goalkeeper, Maduka Okoye, as the team continue their build up to the Cote d’Ivoire 2024 African Cup of Nations.
 
Okoye was Nigeria’s number-one goalkeeper at the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations in Cameroon, but he was hounded out of the team by fans, who blamed him for Nigeria’s ouster from the Cameroon 2021 African Cup of Nations by Tunisia.
 
According to reports, Okonkwo is one of the goalkeepers Nigeria Football Federation’s (NFF) Technical Director, Augustine Eguavoen, is trying to bring to the Eagles.
 
Okonkwo is currently on loan from Arsenal to Wrexham, where he has been the first choice goalkeeper this season. Eguavoen, according to sources in the NFF, has held talks with Okonkwo with a view to a possible call-up to the Nigeria national team in the future.
 
Okonkwo, who has played for England’s junior teams at all levels, qualifies to play for the Super Eagles through his Nigerian dad, Uba Okonkwo, from Anambra State.

Guardian

Recuperating Victor Osimhen and Samuel Chukwueze have been ruled out of Nigeria’s squad to kick off the 2026 World Cup qualifiers against Lesotho and Zimbabwe next weekend.

Super Eagles Head Coach, Jose Santos Peseiro, has confirmed the absence of the two key players who suffered hamstring injuries during Nigeria’s international friendlies with Saudi Arabia and Mozambique last month in Portugal.

Although both Osimhen and Chukwueze have resumed training at Napoli and AC Milan respective, the Portuguese gaffer appears to have heeded calls by stakeholders in the country’s football to allow them recover fully on the sideline.

Peseiro told an online news medium TV Play that he was not going to risk the duo in the clashes with Lesotho and Zimbabwe to avoid injuries that may prevent them from representing Nigeria at the AFCON 2023 kicking off in Côte d’Ivoire in January.

“Samuel Chukwueze and Victor Osimhen will not be called up during the next break. We want to avoid any risks,” Peseiro told  TV Play.

“I am very sorry for their injuries, the clubs pay the players and we constantly collaborate with them,” stressed the coach who is sad that both players have not been able to play for their respective clubs after the FIFA window.

Lesotho’s Likuena will take on the Super Eagles  on November 16 in Uyo and four days later in Rwanda against Zimbabwe.

Meanwhile, leading newspaper in Lesotho, the Lesotho Times is celebrating the absence of some key players for the Super Eagles. It titled its story “Relief as key Nigerian players are ruled out of Likuena tie.”

“The Super Eagles are battling to overcome these injury concerns as they prepare to face Likuena who are eager to cause an upset at the Godswill Akpabio International Stadium in Uyo.

”The Super Eagles are ranked number 40 on the FIFA Coca-Cola world ranking while Likuena are ranked number 153.

”The injury concerns are threatening to disrupt Super Eagles’s coach Jose Peseiro’s hunt for a World Cup ticket after the team missed out on the 2022 World Cup,” the newspaper reported gleefully yesterday.

The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) is expected to announce Peseiro’s squad for the two key matches any moment from today.

This Day

Super Eagles players will regroup in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State on Sunday to begin camping for their 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifier against the Crocodiles of Lesotho on November 16.
The Group C encounter will hold at the Godswill Akpabio International Stadium, Uyo.

According to Nigeria Football Federation’s (NFF) Media Director, Ademola Olajire, all logistics for the successful organisation of the game are already in place, while the list of players for the match will come out on Friday.

The Super Eagles were to battle Lesotho initially on Friday, November 17, but the date was shifted by FIFA to Thursday, November 16.

Apart from Lesotho, the Super Eagles will also play against Zimbabwe, South Africa, Rwanda and Benin Republic in Group C of Africa’s 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifying series.
The Super Eagles failed to qualify for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar after losing on the away goals rule to the Black Stars of Ghana. They drew goalless in Accra and played out a 1-1 draw at the MKO Abiola National Stadium, Abuja, to crash out of the race to Qatar.

This term, the Eagles have promised to ensure Nigeria does not miss another World Cup competition.

After the match against Lesotho, the Eagles will fly to Southern Africa to meet the Warriors of Zimbabwe at the Amahoro Stadium in Kigali, later this month.