Osimhen Out of AFCON Qualifiers; Awoniyi Called Up as Replacement

Victor Osimhen will not participate in Nigeria's opening 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying rounds after failing to achieve adequate recovery from a muscle injury. The Galatasaray forward's unavailability was confirmed by the Nigeria Football Federation across Saturday and Sunday, having missed his club's league match against Trabzonspor on Saturday.

One account identifies the injury as a right adductor muscle strain specifically, while reports indicate that the recovery period surpassed what medical staff had originally anticipated. Eric Chelle included Osimhen when announcing his squad earlier in the week, as both Galatasaray's management and the national team's technical group remained hopeful about his fitness status.

Yet his persistent absence from club matches made it evident that the striker would not be sufficiently fit for the international window. National team media officer Promise Efoghe verified that this 27-year-old would not travel to face Madagascar and Guinea-Bissau in the qualifying campaign.

Coventry City's Taiwo Awoniyi has been selected to fill Osimhen's position on the squad roster. This 29-year-old, who signed with the newly promoted English club, received official notification of his selection through Nigeria Super Eagles social channels on Sunday.

The change offers the national team an alternative attacking resource for the opening matches of this qualification journey. Rather than joining the national delegation, Osimhen will pursue his treatment program at Galatasaray throughout the international break.

The former Napoli player's exclusion marks a meaningful change to Nigeria's personnel as the nation embarks on its 2027 tournament qualification path.