THE Super Eagles have given up on Wilfred Ndidi being fit for the Qatar 2022 World Cup playoffs against Ghana and called up a replacement.
The Leicester City midfielder, regularly one of the first names in the Super Eagles XI, sustained an injury last Thursday in a UEFA Europa Conference League clash against French club Rennes and will not recover in time for the crucial national team games.
In his place, Innocent Bonke has been called up, although the new invitee was not even one of the seven players on standby in Austin Eguavoen’s 32-man squad for the tie.
Bonke, 26, joined French club Lorient in January from Malmo after excelling in the UEFA Champions League for the Swedish side against the likes of Chelsea and Juventus.
Since his switch to Ligue 1, the defensive midfielder has started the last seven Lorient games in the French top flight, three of which his side won, with two draws as they pulled away from relegation trouble.
Before his free transfer to Lorient, Bonke spent five years at Malmo and played all their Champions League matches this season, right from the qualifying stages to the group phase.
He made his Super Eagles debut in September 2021 in the Qatar 2022 World Cup qualifier against Cape Verde away and played for 90 minutes as the Super Eagles won 2-1.
Bonke was then a second-half substitute for Chidozie Anwaziem in Nigeria’s 2-0 away win over Central African Republic in another World Cup qualifier in October.
He has not added to his two international appearances since, missing out on the squad for the Africa Cup of Nations in January.
The Super Eagles face Ghana in Kumasi in the first leg of the playoffs, with the second leg billed for Abuja Tuesday next week.
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