Nigeria will have to navigate their opening Africa Cup of Nations qualifying fixtures without star striker Victor Osimhen, who has been sidelined by a groin muscle strain, the Super Eagles confirmed on Sunday.
The Galatasaray forward will sit out Friday's home encounter with Madagascar in Uyo, part of Group L, as well as the away trip to Guinea-Bissau four days later. He has also been ruled out of a friendly against Russia scheduled for October, as he continues his recovery.
Osimhen's injury has already kept him out of action for his club in recent weeks. His last appearance came on September 4 in a thrilling 3-2 away win over Istanbul Basaksehir in the Turkish Super Lig, a match in which he scored the opening goal. Since then, he has missed Galatasaray's 3-1 Champions League defeat to Sporting and their 1-0 win over Kocaelispor.
The striker was also absent this past weekend when Okan Buruk's Galatasaray side, currently top of the Super Lig, were thrashed 4-0 by Trabzonspor. Mohamed Salah scored a hat-trick in that match, while Galatasaray's Lesley Ugochukwu was shown a red card.
Reports out of Turkey earlier in the week suggested Galatasaray had asked the Nigeria Football Federation to rest Osimhen for the entirety of the three-week international break to aid his recovery, but the request was reportedly denied.
Despite the setback, Osimhen had begun the campaign in excellent form, netting six goals in just four Super Lig appearances before the injury struck.
Confirming the news on social media, the Nigerian federation stated: "Victor Osimhen will miss Nigeria's AFCON 2027 qualifiers against Madagascar and Guinea-Bissau as he continues to recover from a muscle strain. We wish Victor a speedy recovery."
Coventry City forward Taiwo Awoniyi has been called up as his replacement in the squad.
Osimhen remains Nigeria's most crucial attacking asset, having scored 35 goals in 51 appearances for the national team. His absence is a significant blow for coach Eric Chelle as the Super Eagles begin their qualification campaign for the 2027 tournament, which will be jointly hosted by Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania. Nigeria's qualifying push comes on the back of a disappointing failure to reach this year's World Cup.
This is not the first time Osimhen has missed international duty this year amid uncertainty over his club circumstances. The 27-year-old previously addressed speculation regarding his fitness and situation at Galatasaray, insisting that comments from Chelle linking his absence to unclear club circumstances had been "taken out of context and blown out of proportion." He urged supporters to "disregard the speculation surrounding this matter." He also missed a fixture against Egypt earlier this year because of injury.
With Osimhen sidelined once more, Nigeria will lean on other attacking options as they look to get their qualification campaign off to a strong start against Madagascar and Guinea-Bissau, two matches Chelle's side will be expected to navigate successfully despite the absence of their leading man.
Based on reporting from Standard Football.