I’m available for AFCON, Osimhen tells Eguavoen

The African Cup of Nations will start in Yaoundé on January 9, 2022.

Osimhen suffered facial injuries in a Serie A match between Napoli and Inter Milan in November and it was feared that Napoli would need at least three months to recover from surgery. That forecast wiped out any ambitions he had to appear in the competition in Cameroon.

But the 22-year-old forward dispelled those thoughts yesterday when he tweeted that he would be available for the national team if coaches needed him. Osimhen had started training late last month.

Thankful to God. I sincerely thank those who reached out to me, God bless you and yours. There is no time to dwell on past transgressions, waiting for the greater things to come. God is the greatest, we move.

“I will be available for AFCON unless I am not among the players chosen to represent Nigeria,” Osimhen tweeted yesterday.

Osimhen has been the Super Eagles’ top striker since 2020, leading the team to the final round of the Qatar 2022 World Cup qualifying series and qualifying for the 2022 Africa Cup of Nations in Cameroon.

With Paul Onuachu’s availability questionable after an injury he sustained at the weekend, Osimhen’s speedy recovery is a huge boost for Eguavoen’s plans for AFCON.

Nigeria begins in Group D of the African Cup of Nations and begins its campaign in Egypt on January 11 in Garoua before facing Sudan four days later and Guinea-Bissau on January 19.