AFCON Semi final: Mikel injured in training, out of Tunisia game

Super Eagles coach, Gernot Rohr has confirmed that the team’s captain John Obi Mikel will not be available for selection in Wednesday’s third-place match against Tunisia at Al-Salam Stadium, Cairo, Egypt.

Rohr said at the pre-match conference on Tuesday in Cairo that Mikel picked up a fresh knee injury in one of their training sessions and there is no chance for him to be recovered before the game.

The Franco-German tactician commended Mikel for his leadership role in the team, insisted that Mikel has a good outing in the tournament, having led the team in the two games against Burundi and Madagascar.

“Our captain had a knee injury yesterday (Monday) in the training so he could not make the last training session and it is not possible that he will be available for the Tunisia game which is very unfortunate. He had already played. He led the team in the first match, he led the team in the third match. It is already a good tournament for him. He was not with the team for one year.

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His invitation for this tournament was already a big question because other players participated in the qualifiers. He could not come but we decided to invite him because he accepted to honour the invitation,” Rohr said.