BY ANDREW EKEJIUBA
Bordeaux manager Jean-Louis Gasset has confirmed Samuel Kalu suffered a recurrence of a thigh injury in their 3-1 Ligue win over Dijon on Sunday.
Kalu was replaced in the 16th minute by Nicolas de Preville when he was making his 18th appearance in the French top-flight this campaign.
The injury update comes as a blow for Gernot Rohr, who has included the 23-year-old in the Super Eagles’ 24-man squad for their Africa Cup of Nations qualifying fixtures against Benin and Lesotho, on March 27 and 30, respectively.
“For Samuel Kalu, it’s a recurring problem behind the thigh,” Gasset said.
The winger is expected to undergo additional medical examinations to determine the severity of the injury, either on Monday or Tuesday.
Kalu was selected alongside Ahmed Musa, Moses Simon, Alex Iwobi, Victor Osimhen, Kelechi Iheanacho, Samuel Chukwueze and Sadiq Umar in Nigeria’s frontline but he could be well replaced by one of Galatasaray’s Henry Onyekuru, Genk’s Paul Onuachu or Lorient’s Terem Moffi, who have been put on stand-by.
The Nigeria international started his struggles with a thigh injury in October during the country’s friendly outing against Algeria, which kept him on the treatment table for over a month.
He returned to action on November 20 in the Girondins’ 1-0 win at Rennes, but the injury reoccurred seven days later and put him on the sidelines for another long period, and he made his return in a goalless draw against Metz on January 6.
The 23-year-old suffered a setback again last month during Bordeaux’s 3-0 loss to Lille but he shook it off and made an immediate recovery to Jean-Louis Gasset’s team a week later.
So far this season, Kalu has contributed four goals and an assist in 18 Ligue 1 games for Bordeaux, who sit 11th in the league table with 36 points from 29 matches.
