After spending eight months on the sidelines due to a ligament injury Nigeria international defender Zaidu Sanusi has marked his return to football by playing for the B team in their 0-3 loss to Leixões in a second division league game yesterday, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.
Zaidu last played a game on the 17th of February, where he played only 23 minutes of their 2-0 win over CF Estrela. The injury that led to his substitution was later found out to be a cruciate ligament injury which has kept him out until yesterday.
In the ninth round of the Segunda Liga. João Brandão’s team had Zaidu Sanusi on the pitch as he continues his return after a long lay out. The idea is to have him play games for the B team as a way of sharpening his match rhythm before he is back in the main team.
27 year old Zaidu was ever present for the Nigerian team at the AFCON, where they went all the way to the final before losing 1-2 to Cote d’Ivoire. He now face serious competition for his spot with Boavista defender Bruno Onyemaechi establishing himself as the first choice in his absence.
Onyemaechi who was an unused substitute at the AFCON has used the AFCON qualifiers to win the heart of interim coach of the Nigerian team Austine Eguavoen. He has played in all their three games in the series so far.
