Nigeria striker Sadiq Umar is expected to miss the Super Eagles’ 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying matches in September after suffering a hamstring injury while playing for Valencia.
The 29-year-old is facing a potential two-month spell on the sideli jin88bet.one nes after limping during training on Monday, only two days after compl ak168app.baby eting 90 minutes for Valencia against newly promoted Deportivo La Coruña.
Umar scored Valencia’s only goal in the 3-1 defeat on Saturday, but his latest injury means he is unlikely to return to competitive action until late October or early November.
His absence is a setback for Valencia, where he remains an important member of Carlos Corberán’s squad. However, the injury is not expected to significantly disrupt Nigeria coach Éric ak168app.club Chelle’s plans because Umar has not been a regular member of the Super Ea ks168app.site gles under the Franco-Malian manager.
According to Analytica Fantasy, Umar appears to have suffered a hamstring problem that could keep him out for up to eight weeks.
The striker’s injury came after an eventful weekend for Valencia. U ic88 mar started against Deportivo and found the net, but his team eventually suffered defeat after Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scored for the hosts, while two own goals also contributed to the result.
Umar completed the match before returning to ic88 club training on Monday. It was during that session that he was seen limping, raising concerns over the severity of the injury.
For Valencia, the forward’s absence leaves Corberán with the task of finding alternative attacking options. Arnaut Danjuma and Hugo Duro are expected to carry more responsibility ic88 while Umar recovers.
For Nigeria, however, Chelle has several alternatives available in attack as the Super Eagles prepare for their September qualifiers.
Victor Osimhen remains a key part of the national team’s plans. The Galatasaray forward is a regular starter and is particularly important because Chelle prefers to operate with two strikers.
Akor Adams is generally the preferred ic88 partner for Osimhen in that system and is the lr88 refore expected to remain in contention for the September matches. His lack of goals in Venezia’s first two games has not necessarily changed his position in the pecking order.
Chelle’s biggest challenge could instead be deciding which of his other in-form forwards to select.
Tolu Arokodare, Cyriel Dessers and Rafiu Durosinmi lr88 have all made strong starts to the campaign at club level, giving the Nigeria coach several options to consider.
With a number of strikers competing for limited places, C lr88 helle will have to make difficult decisions when he names his squad for the qualifiers.
Umar’s injury therefore comes at a time when Nigeria have considerable depth in the forward positions. While his goalscoring ability would have provided another option, the Super Eagles are not short of al lr88 ternatives.
There could also be changes in midfield as Chelle assesses the form of his players at club level.
Wilfred Ndidi has found himself in a substitute role at Beşiktaş, while Raphael Onyedika has been a consistent performer for Eintracht Frankfurt op88 .
Onyedika’s form could give Chelle reason to reconsider his midfield selection and potentially make changes to his starting line-up for the September qualifiers.
The Super Eagles will return to competitive action in September with qualification for the 202 si88 7 Africa Cup of Nations their immediate priority.
Although Umar’s injury removes one attacking option from consideration, the depth available to Chelle means Nigeria still have several forwards capable of competing for places.
The injury is more significant for Valencia, where Umar’s contribution will be missed during his expected lengthy recovery.
Chelle must now weigh up the form of Osimhen, Adams, Arokodare, Dessers and Durosinmi as h 88v e prepares his squad, while also monitoring developments in midfield.
With several players competing strongly for selection, Umar’s absence is unlikely to leave Nigeria without attacking alternative SEXXXXX-VN s, but it adds another consideration for Chelle ahead of the September qualifiers.
