Eric Chelle has lost another senior player before Nigeria’s friendly against Russia. Bright Osayi-Samuel has left the Super Eagles camp, and no official reason has been given.
The defender is the third established name to drop out of the October 6 game in Nizhny Novgorod. Captain Wilfred Ndidi and Basel defender Victory Akpe had already gone, both with injuries.
Osayi-Samuel’s exit, though, hurts in a different way. It takes away one of the few experienced full-backs Chelle had in the travelling party.
Osayi-Samuel played in the 3-0 loss to Guinea-Bissau in the AFCON qualifiers. Reports say he has now pulled out of the Russia game, but the NFF has not explained why.
Some outlets point to a possible injury. That remains unconfirmed, so it is best treated as speculation for now. This is the first match since the Guinea-Bissau defeat, and Chelle wanted it to be a reset. He planned to use the friendly to test new faces and see how the group responds after a heavy loss. Instead, he is spending the build-up patching holes.
There is a flip side. Abdullahi Bewene, 21, was left out of the September qualifiers but is back in the squad. He told Footy-Africa that Nigeria “do not fear anyone” and said he wants to use the chance. With Osayi-Samuel gone, he is the obvious name to watch on the right.
Kick-off is 5:00 p.m. Nigeria time on Tuesday at the Sovcombank Arena. Chelle should confirm his final eleven and any late replacement before then.
After that, Nigeria turn back to the qualifying group, with a double-header against Tanzania due in November.
Those games matter far more than this friendly. Nigeria sit on three points in Group L, and the defence has to be sorted out well before then. How the right-back spot looks after Tuesday will tell us a lot.
