There are palpable fears over the fitness of Samuel Kalu ahead of Nigeria’s 2019 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Bafana Bafana of South Africa and the international friendly with Uganda this month.
The Point gathered that the Nigeria international did not participate in Bordeaux training session as a result of illness.
Kalu has few days to fully recover from his ailment before reporting for international duty on November 12.
The former Gent star is seen by manager Gernot Rohr as a direct replacement for retired Chelsea star Victor Moses and has started the last three competitive matches played by the Super Eagles.
In 14 outings for Bordeaux across all competitions, Kalu has registered his name on the score-sheet once.
He received his first call-up to the Super Eagles team for the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifier against Seychelles on Saturday,
September 8.
Born in Aba, Abia State, on August 26, 1997, Samuel Kalu Ojim completed a move to French Ligue 1 side Bordeaux following an impressive season.
The Nigerian youngster was highly rated at Belgian First Division side KAA Gent before his move to Bordeaux.
He started his youth career at GBS Academy where he earned a move to Slovakian powerhouses AS Trencin in 2016 and contributed four goals in 32 appearances for Trencin which earned him a move to Gent after just one season.
Kalu also spent one season at Gent where he contributed 10 goals in 48 appearances before his move to Bordeaux.
Born and raised in Nigeria, Kalu has not featured for any of the Nigerian team at youth levels and there are reports that suggest he was considered for the Flying Eagles team that failed to qualify for the 2017 FIFA U-20 World Cup.
Kalu is a forward who mainly operates in the wide areas wither on the left or right. He has blistering pace and can also occupy the attacking midfielder role behind the centre forward.
With Chelsea star Victor Moses retiring from the Super Eagles, Kalu is expected to fill the void on the flanks.
