President of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), Amaju Pinnick, has revealed that Napoli striker, Victor Osimhen, told him that he would not be able to give his best for the Super Eagles at the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations, AFCON.
Pinnick claimed that Osimhen told him that he would like other players to showcase their talents for Nigeria at the 2021 AFCON, adding that he wants to prepare himself for the World Cup qualifiers.
Osimhen was among the four players who were replaced in the Super Eagles’ squad for the AFCON in Cameroon this January.
The 23-year-old had sustained a nasty facial injury last November, after colliding with Milan Skriniar in Napoli’s 3-2 defeat to Inter Milan.
“Osimhen’s case, you know I had a one-hour conversation with him,” Pinnick told Arise News.
The day he was going to do his scan, the second scan that would make him take off the faceguard, that was the day he caught COVID, so there was no way he could do that and that was the deadline.
“So he called me and said, ‘President, listen even if I try, even if I go to my [club] president’. I also told him I also wanted to come and see his president and he said, ‘president listen I would not be able to give my best, let other players also showcase their talents. In the World Cup qualifiers, let me prepare myself.’
“He appealed and I saw he called me, the coach, the team’s secretary and also the general secretary. I know Osimhen loves this country, you all know that.
“He wants to give his best, but he believes right now there are some players that would do better than him, so let him take a back seat and allow them go. It was a tough call.”
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