Leicester City duo of Wilfred Ndidi and Kelechi Iheanacho are big doubts for Nigeria in the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) after they picked up injuries just days before the competition.

The Nigerians did not feature in the team’s Championship match win on Monday.

But club manager Enzo Maresca said they have been released to the national team.

“Kelechi [Iheanacho] and Wilfred [Ndidi] are both currently injured, but they are going to go with the international team, we will see if Nigeria want to include them or send them back as I said, they both have an injury at the moment,” he told the club’s website after Leicester City romped to a 4-1 home victory over Huddersfield Town on New Year’s Day. “Patson [Daka] and Harry [Souttar] are already with their international teams.”

The Super Eagles camp opened in Abu Dhabi, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Monday. Nigeria is in Group A of the competition with hosts Cote d’Ivoire, Guinea-Bissau, and Equatorial Guinea.

They begin their campaign against Equatorial Guinea on Sunday, January 15th, 2024. After that, they play the hosts four days later before taking on Guinea-Bissau.

Having clinched three titles, Coach Jose Peseiro’s men are gunning for another in the West African nation.

“We will fight to win the Africa Cup even though it won’t be easy. Our group is not easy because we are up against the Ivory Coast, who have a good squad and are playing at home,” Peseiro told NFF TV.

“Equatorial Guinea reached the quarter-final at the last AFCON, better than Nigeria, while Guinea-Bissau beat us at home (in the qualifiers). We have to be at our best in our trainings and in our matches.” (Channels TV)

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