Indications emerged on Monday that Super Eagles forward Sunday Faleye has been ruled out of the ongoing African Nations Championship as doctor said the injury he sustained against Angola is “severe”.
The Eagles sensational player in a post on Monday confirmed the severity of the injury stating that “I have been ruled out of the rest of the tournament because of my injury. The doctor said I will be out for a month,” Faleye said.
This means the youngster who played the championship with CHAN Eagles to the quarterfinal stage will be out of Coach Salisu Yusuf line up for the semi-final match against Sudan on 31 January in Marrakech.
You would recall that Faleye fell awkwardly on his arm, twisting it in the process as Nigeria chased an equalizer during the quarterfinal game which the Eagles came from behind to win 3-1 as it extended to the extra-time. Although he continued to play with a bandage strapped arm, but he was later subbed.
Meanwhile ahead of the Wednesday Semi-final cracker with Sudan, Ikechukwu Ezenwa- who was the Man of the Match against Angola- has said the CHAN Eagles have resolved to surpass Nigeria’s best outing in the competition by going all the way to the final in Morocco.
“Even before we came to Morocco, we promised among ourselves to go past the semi-finals, we are heading to the final.
“We respect Sudan, but we don’t fear them. We will double our efforts against their main national team and we hope to win again,” he said.
The Goalkeeper and captain Ezenwa pulled off at least four big saves against Angola to keep the Eagles alive in Tangier.
Nigeria’s best performance in CHAN was reaching the semi-finals on their debut in 2014 in South Africa. The Enyimba shot stopper also praised coach Salisu Yusuf for always believing in the team.
“He was standing by the touchline even when it looked like we will lose (vs Angola), the coach gave us confidence. He has never ever lost confidence in us. I never believed we will lose and I was pleased I kept the team in the game,” he added.
