{"id":124310,"date":"2025-12-09T16:16:36","date_gmt":"2025-12-09T15:16:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/?p=124310"},"modified":"2025-12-09T16:16:36","modified_gmt":"2025-12-09T15:16:36","slug":"super-eagles-goalkeeper-nwabali-faces-afcon-uncertainty","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/super-eagles-goalkeeper-nwabali-faces-afcon-uncertainty\/","title":{"rendered":"Super Eagles\u2019 Goalkeeper Nwabali Faces AFCON Uncertainty"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>By Oscar Okhifo<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Nigeria\u2019s Super Eagles may be heading into the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Morocco with a major headache, as first-choice goalkeeper Stanley Nwabali faces a race against time to recover from ankle and hand injuries that could rule him out of the tournament.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>The Chippa United goalkeeper\u2019s club coach, Vusimuzi Vilakazi, confirmed that Nwabali aggravated a pre-existing hand injury while also struggling with an ankle problem during Nigeria\u2019s recent World Cup qualifiers in Morocco.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Vilakazi said: \u201cIt\u2019s an ankle injury, but the hand also needs an operation because he\u2019s been playing with that injured hand for a while. He worsened it while he was in Morocco.\u201d<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>The coach admitted doubt over Nwabali\u2019s chances of returning in time but noted the player remains determined.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>\u00a0\u201cI don\u2019t think he will make it, but he\u2019s confident he\u2019ll recover very soon. You understand he\u2019s a player and he wants to be at the Cup of Nations. The reality, however, is that he is injured for now,\u201d Vilakazi added.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>The 29-year-old was Nigeria\u2019s undisputed first choice during the last AFCON, helping the Super Eagles reach the final before losing 2\u20131 to hosts C\u00f4te d\u2019Ivoire. He has since cemented his position as the team\u2019s No. 1, earning 27 international caps.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Nwabali has not played since Nigeria\u2019s penalty shootout loss to the Democratic Republic of Congo in last month\u2019s continental playoff, which also served as a qualifier for the Intercontinental playoffs in Mexico next March.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>With the AFCON squad deadline looming on Thursday, December 11, head coach \u00c9ric S\u00e9kou Chelle may turn to Udinese\u2019s Maduka Okoye if Nwabali cannot recover in time.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>\u00a0Nigeria\u2019s defense has already been hit by injuries to Ola Aina, Benjamin Fredrick, and Felix Agu, compounded by the retirement of veteran William Troost-Ekong.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>The Super Eagles will open Group C against Tanzania in Fes on December 23, face Tunisia on December 27, and conclude the group stage against Uganda on December 30.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Medical assessments in the coming days will determine whether Nwabali can join the squad in Morocco. The wish of Nigerians is one, that Nwabali will recover early enough to shine bright in Morocco.<\/div>\n<!-- AddThis Advanced Settings generic via filter on the_content --><!-- AddThis Share Buttons generic via filter on the_content --><!-- AddThis Related Posts generic via filter on the_content -->","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Oscar Okhifo Nigeria\u2019s Super Eagles may be heading into the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Morocco with a major headache, as first-choice goalkeeper Stanley Nwabali faces a&hellip;<!-- AddThis Advanced Settings generic via filter on wp_trim_excerpt --><!-- AddThis Share Buttons generic via filter on wp_trim_excerpt --><!-- AddThis Related Posts generic via filter on wp_trim_excerpt --><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":124311,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-124310","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.8 - 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