Captain of the Super Eagles of Nigeria John Mikel Obi will not take part in the Super Eagles round of 16 clash after failing to shake off the knee injury he picked up in the 0-2 loss to Madagascar in the Super Eagles final group game at the Africa Cup of Nations.
Mikel suffered a knock to his kneel in the first half of the game against Madagascar but rather than go off for proper medical care, he continued and played for almost an hour before going off for Alex Iwobi but at that time he has already aggravated the pain.
Two days back, he could barely walk as his left knee was swollen and he didn’t take part in their recovery session and gym work the past few days and even today, he watched from the sidelines as the rest of the players were put through their paces by the technical crew.
Already coach Gernot Rohr has started plans for the game without the influential captain who has not had the best of tournament so far even though he has secured a move to Turkish side Trabzonspor, where he will team up in two out of favour Super Eagles players in Ogenyi Onazi and Anthony Nwakaeme.
