Victor Moses has been ruled out of Nigeria’s friendlies with Mali and Luxembourg through fitness concerns.
The forward requested to be excused following injuries suffered from the just concluded English Premier League season and as a consequence, would play no part in the matches which serve as warm-up for the Fifa World Cup qualifiers which begins later this year.
Media officer Toyin Ibitoye confirmed this to Goal claiming there would be no late replacement for the Chelsea player as the team is expected to depart for France on Tuesday night. He also disclosed that visa hitches have been resolved.
“He [Moses] wrote to complain about fitness, some few knocks he picked towards the end of the season and he wants to be excused,” Super Eagles media officer Toyin Ibitoye told Goal.
“As a professional, fitness issues should be taken very seriously. His wish has been granted and since it is a friendly match, we have other players available. There is nothing to worry about because this will be a chance for them to prove their worth.
“Aaron [Samuel] too will be out because he picked up an injury while playing for his club in a cup final. It is a big miss because he is a very good player.
“For William Troost-Ekong, he is involved in a cup final in Norway but he will join the team after the game for the second friendly game against Luxemborg.
“Babatunde Michael was called up after Mikel Obi and Ahmed Musa were excused for Joseph Yobo testimonial. So there won’t be any replacement because we have a good number of players to work with.
“Almost everybody is travelling tonight by 11.pm, while myself, Amodu Shuaibu and one other official will be travelling tomorrow,” he concluded.
This brings to four the number of invited players that would miss the game after striker Aaron Samuel and Nigeria captain John Obi Mikel and his deputy, Ahmed Musa released to attend the Joseph Yobo Testimonial.
