Nigeria have announced that Leicester City midfielder Wilfred Ndidi will miss the upcoming final play-offs of the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifiers against Ghana on March 25 due to injury.
The 25-year-old has been replaced by Innocent Bonke who plays for Ligue 1 side Lorient.
The Super Eagles confirmed Ndidi's unavailability via their Twitter handle on Sunday.
https://twitter.com/NGSuperEagles/status/1505564733944078344
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Ndidi sustained an injury in Leicester City's 2-1 defeat to Rennes in the second leg of their UEFA Europa Conference League on Thursday.
He was substituted for James Maddison in the 60th minute after trying to tackle Gaetan Laborde for the ball but he injured himself in the process.
The extent of Ndidi’s injury is yet to be known.
“Wilfred Ndidi is a block tackle, so he injured the medial ligament in his knee so will see how that is,” Brendan Rodgers said after the game.
Ndidi had been named in the Nigeria squad for the two-legged encounter against Ghana.
Black Stars will host Nigeria in the first leg of the playoffs on March 25 at the Baba Yara Stadium, before travelling to Abuja for the return leg on March 29, 2022, at the Moshood Abiola Stadium.
This upcoming encounter is one that will be keenly watched by football fans in Accra and Abuja because of the known rivalry between the two countries.
The winner of the tie will represent the continent at the World football showpiece which is scheduled to take place from November 21 to December
The Super Eagles are seeking to qualify for the global showpiece a 7th time and, since 1994, have missed only one of seven editions. The last of three appearances by Ghana was in 2014.