Following his substitution in the 59th minute during Thursday’s World Cup qualifiers match against Lesotho, Taiwo Awoniyi, the 25-year-old Nottingham Forest striker, has left the Super Eagles camp due to a groin injury. The match against Lesotho ended in a 1-1 draw, and Awoniyi missed a crucial scoring opportunity in the 36th minute. Unfortunately, he will be unavailable for the second game of the qualification series against Zimbabwe on Sunday.
The Super Eagles X account announced Awoniyi’s departure in a post on Friday, stating, “Taiwo Awoniyi has left camp for his base due to a pain in the groin and returns to England tonight (Friday) after discussions between his club doctors and the Super Eagles medical team.” This setback means Awoniyi will have to wait until 2024 to further establish himself as a dependable Super Eagles striker.
With Victor Osimhen of Napoli also absent, Super Eagles head coach Jose Peseiro will have to rely on the goal-scoring abilities of OGC Nice striker Terem Moffi and Real Sociedad striker Sadiq Umar. Other forwards in the squad include Bayer Leverkusen duo Nathan Tella and the proven striker in the Nigerian side, 22-year-old Victor Boniface. Boniface, who joined the German Bundesliga from Union Saint-Gilloise, has already notched seven goals and provided five assists in 11 top division games.
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