Nigeria midfielder Alhassan Yusuf has been ruled out of their 2023 Africa Cup of Nations match against Ivory Coast on Thursday.
Jose Peseiro confirmed that the Royal Antwerp star is yet to fully recover from the injury he sustained in the Super Eagles’ opening match against Equatorial Guinea on Sunday.
Yusuf was stretchered off in the 69th minute of the 1-1 draw and he missed the team’s training session on Monday.
Peseiro, during his press conference on Wednesday, confirmed that the injury is not serious but he should be back in contention for their final Group A game against Guinea-Bissau on January 22.
“Yusuf is out of the game against against Cote d’Ivoire. We hope he will be able to play the next game against Guinea-Bissau,” Peseiro told the media.
“The good thing is that it is not a serious injury. He did the test yesterday and it was not something serious.”
Yusuf was called up as a replacement for Wilfred Ndidi after the Leicester City midfielder pulled out of the tournament in Ivory Coast due to injury.
The 23-year-old partnered Frank Onyeka in the Super Eagles’ midfield against Equatorial Guinea and he could be replaced by Joe Aribo or Raphael Onyedika.
