Nigeria captain John Obi Mikel and his deputy, Ahmed Musa, will play no part in the upcoming international friendly matches against Mali and Luxembourg on May 27 and June 1 as they have been allowed to feature in the Joseph Yobo Testimonial.
Former Eagles captain and first 100-cap player, Yobo, has his testimonial match scheduled for May 27 at the Godswill Akpabio Stadium, Uyo, same day the Eagles take their Malian counterparts in Rouen, France.
The crisis-ridden Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) had received some flak for selecting the same date for the friendly when it was already aware of the testimonial for Yobo, Goal.com reports.
As a result, the football house has announced that the team would be without the captain and his deputy for the crucial warm up games ahead of the upcoming Russia 2018 World Cup qualifiers.
“The NFF leadership has decided that Mikel and Musa should be excused from the two friendly matches in Europeso that they can honour Joseph Yobo, who is having his testimonial game on the same Friday, 27th May that we areplaying Mali in Rouen, France. The two players have been communicated accordingly,”said NFF General Secretary, Dr. Mohammed Sanusi.
Striker Aaron Samuel had already been ruled out following injury, bringing the number of absentees to three as the team looks to rebuild from the disaster of the 2017 Afcon fail.
Soccernet
