FC Porto forward Samu Aghehowa is set to be ruled out of the 2026 FIFA World Cup with Spain after sustaining a cruciate ligament injury to his right knee in Monday’s Liga Portugal draw with fierce rivals Sporting Lisbon, Afrosport reports.
The 21-year-old of Nigerian heritage made complaints twice during the first half of the match, which resulted in him being substituted at halftime, with Deniz Gul coming on in his place.
The severity of Samu’s injury will determine his recovery time, but is expected to be out for the rest of the season and the World Cup in North America, where Spain face Cape Verde, Saudi Arabia and Uruguay in Group H.
“I’ll be out of action for a few months,” he posted on Instagram.
“It hurts me not being able to help the team as I’d like, fighting on the field. Now I’m just another fan supporting us towards our goals.”
View this post on Instagram
Samu has scored 20 goals in 32 games in all competitions, including 13 goals in 20 Liga Portugal games. He has been capped four times by Spain but has yet to score his first international goal.
