Shanghai Shenhua striker, Odion Ighalo, has declared himself fit and ready for the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations preparations with the Super Eagles, after recovering fully from an injury that kept him out of action for three weeks.
Ighalo picked up the injury featuring for Shanghai Shenhua in a Chinese Super League clash against Tianjin Teda last month.
However, he’s back in training for a few days, and is now working on his match fitness ahead of Saturday’s international friendly against Zimbabwe at the Stephen Keshi Stadium in Asaba.
“I’m extremely happy to be back training and I can’t wait to rejoin my teammates in Asaba,”
“The Nations Cup is a big tournament and I’m ready and fully fit to take part in it.”
The 29-year-old, who scored seven goals in the Chinese Super League before his injury, is also confident about the team’s chances at the tournaments.
“There are no pushovers; we must work hard to record victories at the AFCON. It’s a tough group but we will go through.”
Meanwhile, Super Eagles coach Gernot Rohr has hinted that Leon Balogun, Kelechi Iheanacho and other players who did not feature prominently at their clubs will get a chance to play against Zimbabwe.
“I want to see a lot of players who are not playing so much, give them the opportunity to play,” Rohr told reporters in Asaba.
“It can be for some defenders like Balogun, he is fit but he didn’t play so much, so we want to see him playing on Saturday and also some players like Kelechi who didn’t play at all, so we want to see him play on Saturday.”
Super Eagles are expected to leave for Ismaila, Egypt on Sunday to intensify their preparations for the AFCON.
The Eagles last pre-tournament friendly is against Senegal, billed for the Ismailia Stadium on June 16.
Nigeria kick-start their 2019 AFCON campaign against Burundi on June 22 at the Alexandria Stadium in Alexandria, before taking on Guinea at the same venue four days later.