Napoli striking sensation, Victor Osimhen will miss Nigeria's two friendly matches against Algeria and Tunisia billed to hold on October 9 and 13 respectively, Grassroot Reporters reports.
The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) made the announcement on its verified Twitter handle on Sunday.
Osimhen will be replaced by Genk FC of Belgium striker, Paul Onuachu. Onuachu has so far impressed at club levels, netting 7 goals in 6 starts for the club in the current season. But the big striker has for far failed to impress in the colours of Nigeria Super Eagles. Apart from a solitary goal he scored against the Pharaohs of Egypt in a friendly match, the big striker failed to score any goal in the 2019 African Nations Cup, drawing heavy criticisms from Nigerian football lovers.
The NFF said: "@victorosimhen has been excused from @NGSuperEagles games against Algeria and Tunisia. His replacement is Paul Onuachu".
Although the reason for Osimhen absence was not stated by the NFF, this may not be unconnected with the outbreak of Coronavirus.
Recall that 22 Genoa players tested positive to the virus, following the loss to Napoli last week Sunday. Although Osimhen has not tested positive to the Virus, he has undergone a test with the rest of his teammates and the coaching staff.
Napoli were banned by local authorities from travelling to Turin for the match against Juventus on health concerns after 2 players from the Turin Club tested positive to the virus, although Juventus had insisted on going on with the match.
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