Head coach of South Africa Premier Soccer League (PSL) side Chippa United Vusumuzi Vilakazi says first choice goalkeeper of the senior national team of Nigeria Stanley Nwabali will likely miss the upcoming Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco.
Nwabali has been the first choice goalkeeper of the Nigerian team since the last AFCON, where they finished second after losing 1-2 to host Cote d’Ivoire in the final.
The coach said the 29 year old has been battling with an ankle injury, and also a hand injury lately and will require some time to be fit and ready for a tournament like the AFCON.
“I doubt it, looking at the state of his injury,” Vilakazi told SuperSport.com. “I don’t think he will make it, but when I was talking to him, he was confident that he will recover very soon. Obviously, as a player, he wants to be there at the Cup of Nations finals. But the reality is that he is still injured. I also hope for the best that he might find himself there.
He said there is a tendency that Nwabali will undergo surgery after aggravating the injury while in goal for Nigeria at the world cup qualifiers playoff in Morocco. “He’s been playing with that hand for a while and aggravated the injury while he was in Morocco,” the coach added.
