Nigeria Football Federation President, Ibrahim Gusau, has allayed concerns over Wilfred Ndidi’s absence from the Super Eagles squad for the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations.

Ndidi’s injury has led to him being replaced by Royal Antwerp’s Alhassan Yusuf. Gusau expressed confidence in the team’s ability to perform well without Ndidi, stating, “I don’t have any tension because I know we played a lot of matches without Ndidi, and we won a lot of matches without Ndidi.”

Gusau emphasised Yusuf’s potential impact, citing his notable performances in the UEFA Champions League. “The young boy that was brought in now, Yusuf, is also doing wonderfully well with his team.”

“When they played against Barcelona, you can see the performance he put on in the win against Barcelona in the Champions League,” Gusau stated. Drawing parallels to Sunday Mba’s AFCON 2013 impact, Gusau hopes Yusuf could make a similar mark.

“He’s also a young boy, maybe it’s an opportunity for him to do a miracle. Don’t forget everybody did not have confidence in Mba when we went to the AFCON in 2013, and at the end of the day, Mba was part of the players that performed a miracle,” Gusau noted.

The focus, he reiterated, is on the Super Eagles as they prepare for AFCON, with an upcoming preparatory match against Guinea. Gusau highlighted, “Nobody knows what Yusuf is going to be in the team, so it’s not about Ndidi, it’s about the Super Eagles.”