Nigeria lose Victor Osimhen for Madagascar, Guinea-Bissau AFCON 2027 qualifiers

Nigeria will be without star striker Victor Osimhen for the upcoming 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying matches against Madagascar and Guinea-Bissau.

The Galatasaray forward is set to miss the two crucial fixtures as he continues his recovery from a muscle strain.

Osimhen has been out of action for few weeks after suffering an injury during Galatasaray’s 3-2 victory over Istanbul Basaksehir on 4 September, scoring before leaving the match after 33 minutes.

“Victor Osimhen will miss Nigeria’s AFCON 2027 qualifiers against Madagascar and Guinea-Bissau as he continues to recover from a muscle strain. We wish Victor a speedy recovery” wrote on Super Eagles X account.

Osimhen was named in Éric Chelle’s 24-man squad for the qualifiers, which kick-start this week. Having failed to recover in time, the forward has pulled out from this interantional break.

Nigeria will host Madagascar’s Barea at the Godswill Akpabio International Stadium, Uyo, on Friday, 25 September, before travelling to Bissau to face Guinea-Bissau’s Wild Dogs on Tuesday, 29 September.

The Super Eagles will now have to prepare for the two fixtures without one of their leading attacking options, while Osimhen continues his rehabilitation with the aim of returning to action once he has fully recovered from the muscle problem.

With Osimhen unavailable, Chelle still has several attacking options in the squad, including Lookman, Moses Simon, Akor Adams, Samuel Chukwueze, Tolu Arokodare, George Ilenikhena and Moses Usor.

Nigeria are grouped with Madagascar, Guinea-Bissau and Tanzania in the 2027 AFCON qualifying series. Tanzania, as one of the tournament co-hosts, already have an automatic place at the finals, leaving the qualifying race in the group to determine the other participant.

The forward has been an important figure for the Super Eagles, and his absence will be a blow to the team as they prepare for the qualifiers. The prolific attacker has consistently played a key role in Nigeria’s attacking setup and will now focus on regaining full fitness.