Izuchukwu OkosiThe Nigeria Football Federation has leaped to the defence of the medical team of the Super Eagles in the aftermath of the decision to drop Real Sociedad striker Sadiq Umar from the Africa Cup of Nations squad.
Umar who was out with injury for a long spell made the 25-man squad but had to be dropped due to fitness concerns and replaced by Paul Onuachu.
Join our WhatsApp ChannelThe latter was part of the side that were held to a 1-1 draw by Equatorial Guinea on Sunday.
The leadership of the NFF on Tuesday dispelled the conspiracy theory that the striker was deliberately dropped for some unspecified reasons.
The player was reported to have copped an injury in the team’s friendly against Guinea prior to jetting off to Abidjan and had to be substituted in the final list.
Reports emerged on Monday that the player had returned to training at his Spanish club, Real Sociedad, who shared a video of the player in light training.
Umar has controversially been named in the Sociedad squad for their Copa del Rey round of 16 second leg fixture against Mallorca.
Sociedad have a 1-0 advantage going into the return leg against their La Liga rivals.
The camp of the Super Eagles through a press release issued by the Communications Director of the NFF, Ademola Olajire, defended the decision of the team.
“We are surprised at the news trending on social media concerning Sadiq Umar and how he was withdrawn from the team camp,” the statement read.
“The fact is that our medical team meticulously abided by the best medical procedures and were diligent in their processes and conclusions before advising Head Coach José Peseiro that the player be withdrawn from the squad.
“The player, Sadiq Umar, was okay when he arrived at camp; he had to undergo the standard pre-competition medical assessment and he was good.
“He started to train with the team. Unfortunately, he copped an injury on the back of his left knee during our friendly match against Guinea in Abu Dhabi on 8th January, which led to a penalty against our opponents.
“The medical team advised that he substituted, as a cautionary measure, but he said he was fine and could continue the game. At half-time, he said he reiterated that he was good to continue playing, and he played the entire 90 minutes.
“However, the following day, he woke up to see the knee swelling, and the medical team had to apply ice which is the normal thing. The same day, we had to travel to Lagos and on the 10th of January, flew to Abidjan. Then, the swelling became worse.
“Most of the reports we have seen are not a true representation of what actually happened.
“We have a very competent medical team who are well-trained in sport and exercise medicine and highly experienced and exposed to the most modern techniques and practices.
“They followed all due processes and protocol in tandem with the consultant knee surgeon that the player himself contacted in Spain before the decision was made in the interest of the nation and the career of the player.
The NFF insist that they have acted in a professional manner.
“As much as the medical team has refused to join issues with anyone due to their professional patience and privacy policy, we will not allow anyone to rubbish our collective responsibility as Team Nigeria to this Africa Cup of Nations championship.
“We reiterate that the player was carried along throughout the process, and he started his rehabilitation with the team physiotherapist before he returned to his club in Spain.”
The Super Eagles will face Cote d’Ivoire in their second Group A game on Thursday at 6 pm Nigerian time.
Izuchukwu Okosi is a Nigerian sports and entertainment journalist with two decades of experience in the media industry having begun his media journey in 2002 as an intern at Mundial Sports International (MSI) and Africa Independent Television (AIT), owners of Daar Communications Plc.
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