Super Eagles Hit By Major Blow As Seven Players Miss Russia Friendly

The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has explained the absence of captain Wilfred Ndidi, Raphael Onyedika and five other players from the Super Eagles squad for Tuesday’s international friendly against Russia in Nizhny Novgorod.

According to Bush Radio Academy, the NFF said the players were unavailable due to injuries, clubs withholding permission and documentation issues.

Ndidi and Basel defender Victory Akpe were ruled out because of injuries. Ndidi reportedly picked up a minor knock during Nigeria’s 3-0 defeat to Guinea-Bissau in the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier on September 29, while Akpe was unable to travel to Russia because of an injury.

Several other players were prevented from joining the national team after their clubs declined to release them.

Eintracht Frankfurt reportedly blocked midfielder Raphael Onyedika from travelling, while Bright Osayi-Samuel and UAE-based midfielder Ridwan Abdulrasaq Popoola were also unavailable after their respective clubs withheld permission.

Forward Moses Usor was another late withdrawal after Austrian club LASK refused to release him for the friendly.

Usor had made an impressive start to his international career, scoring on his Super Eagles debut in Nigeria’s 2-1 victory over Madagascar in Uyo on September 25. He was subsequently invited by head coach Éric Chelle for the Russia fixture.

Slavia Prague forward Suleiman Mubarak also missed the trip because he had yet to obtain the required residence permit. The player had been in contention to make his Super Eagles debut against Russia.

The withdrawals have left Chelle with a reduced squad as Nigeria seek to recover from their disappointing 3-0 defeat to Guinea-Bissau.

Eighteen players took part in Sunday’s training session before late invitee Ibrahim Ajasa of Russian club FC Rostov joined the camp, bringing the total number of available players to 19.

The Super Eagles completed their final training session at the Nizhny Novgorod Stadium on Monday evening ahead of the friendly.

Russia enter the encounter in strong form after defeating Iran 2-0 before recording a 6-0 victory over Namibia in Yekaterinburg on Saturday.

Nigeria will be seeking a better outcome than their last meeting with Russia, which ended in a 1-1 draw in Moscow in June 2025. Russia took the lead through an own goal by Semi Ajayi before Tolu Arokodare equalised for the Super Eagles.