Stanley Nwabali
Vusimuzi Vilakazi, the head coach of Chippa United, says he doesn’t think Stanley Nwabali will be fit enough to make the Super Eagles final squad for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON).
In a chat with SuperSport, the coach revealed that the goalkeeper is battling both an “ankle injury” and a “hand injury”.
Vilakazi said Nwabali needs an operation on his injured hand, adding that the situation got “aggravated” during the African playoffs of the 2026 World Cup in Morocco.
“I doubt it, looking at the state of his injury,” the Chippa United coach said.
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“I don’t think he will make it, but when I was talking to him, he was confident that he will recover very soon, but obviously you will understand because he’s a player he wants to be there at the Cup of Nations finals.
“But the reality is saying for now he is still injured. I also hope for the best that he might find himself there.
“It’s an ankle injury, but then also the hand needs an operation because he’s been playing with that (injured) hand for a while now, and he aggravated the injury while he was in Morocco.”
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Nwabali was included in the 54-player provisional list released by Eric Chelle, Eagles’ head coach, for AFCON.
The 29-year-old became Nigeria’s first-choice goalkeeper at the last AFCON in Cote d’Ivoire, where the team finished second.
If Nwabali misses out of the final squad for the forthcoming AFCON, Maduka Okoye and Amas Obasogie will be handed an opportunity to stake their claims for Nigeria’s number one shirt.
The 2025 AFCON will be held in Morocco from December 21 to January 18. The Eagles are in Group C of the tournament alongside Tanzania, Tunisia and Uganda.
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