Super Eagles and Chippa United goalkeeper Stanley Nwabali appeared to have suffered an injury in his club’s clash against Richards Bay on Tuesday, Soccernet.ng reports.
The 29-year-old Chippa United shot-stopper, who has established himself as Nigeria’s number one since the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations, was stretchered off, raising immediate concerns over his availability for September’s crucial fixtures.
Eric Chelle‘s side are set to take on Rwanda and South Africa – Two fixtures that could determine Nigeria’s place at the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
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To make matters even worse for Nigeria, second-choice goalie Maduka Okoye is ineligible to play due to a ban he received in Italy.
However, fans’ hopes were raised after the Nigeria Football Federation confirmed the final 23 players called up for the next set of games, and Nwabali’s name was on the list.
Former Super Eagles goalkeeper Alloysius Agu has maintained it’s too early to rule the former Enyimba International Goalkeeper out of contention for the World Cup qualifiers.
“I don’t think we should panic. It’s football, and he has not been ruled out of the game,” the 58-year-old said in quotes revealed by Brila.
“You never can tell — maybe before that game he will get better. So it’s not something we should start panicking about.”
The former Super Eagles goalkeeping coach revealed his confidence in other Nigerian goalies, should Nwabali fail to recover in time.
“The other goalkeepers are also well capable. They are waiting for their chance to showcase what they have.
“Nigeria should not panic at all. We should keep praying for Stanley so that he can recover quickly. Who says he cannot recover and play? He has done it before, and he can still do it again,” the ex-Kayserispor man concluded.
Nwabali, on the other hand, has confirmed he’s fully fit, and ready to get into action with the Super Eagles next month.