Super Eagles: Victor Moses Pulls Out Of October Friendlies As Mikel, Ighalo Arrive In Camp

Super Eagles attacker Victor Moses has pulled out of the squad to face Cameroon and Congo just as Odion Ighalo and Mikel Obi were the first players to hit the camp.

Moses sent a letter to the NFF claiming he had withdrawn from the squad as a safety measure after he received a knock in West Ham’s draw with Sunderland over the weekend.

Moses provided an assist for Carl Jenkinson to score West Ham’s first goal in a 1 – 1 draw with Sunderland. This would be the second time Moses would be pulling out of coach Sunday Oliseh’s squad due to injury.

In his reaction to the news, coach Sunday Oliseh expressed dismay that two talented members of the group would be missing for the friendlies.

He said: “We have no choice now but to work with the other players who are available. The fact that the other batch of players from home were not issued their visas last week is also setting us back because we would really want to take advantage of the time to put in a lot of work.”
Moses join’s Kasimpasa defender Kenneth Omeruo as the second player to pull out of the squad. Omeruo was replaced by Celtic’s Efe Ambrose.

Meanwhile, Chelsea’s John Mikel Obi and Watford’s Odion Ighalo were the first players to arrive the Eagles training camp ahead of the upcoming friendlies.
Eagles spokesperson Toyin Ibitoye told africanfootball.com that other players will join the duo later on Monday October 5.

Ighalo starred for Watford over the weekend scoring his fifth premier league goal while Mikel Obi was not named in the squad that lost 3-1 at home to Southampton over the weekend.
He said: “Mikel and Odion Ighalo are the first arrivals in Belgium for our matches against DRC and Cameroon. Most of the other players will be arriving Belgium today (Monday) based on their confirmation to the coach.”

The Super Eagles face DR Congo and Cameroon, on October 8 and 11 respectively. The two matches will be played in Belgium.

Earlier, the NFF has announced that the Super Eagles will delay its flight to Belgium in preparation for friendlies against Congo and Cameroon.

The delay was caused by international passports of players and officials which are still at the Embassy of Belgium in Abuja.

In a related development, Nigeria has moved up one place in the latest FIFA rankings which was announced the same day the nation was celebrating its independence day on October 1, 2015.