Mainz Defender Leon Balogun Joins Super Eagles Walking Wounded

Leon Balogun has joined the Super Eagles walking wounded and was unavailable for selection when Mainz 05 faced off with Augsburg at the WWK Arena on Sunday afternoon in a Bundesliga tie.

This will certainly be bad news for Nigeria coach Gernot Rohr as he is also sweating on the fitness of three players he is planning to name in his provisional World Cup squad, Tyronne Ebuehi, Joel Obi and Eddy Onazi, who only returned to training few days ago after suffering a hamstring-related injury vs Kayserispor on April 7.

Medical tests carried out by Mainz medics before the match against Augsburg revealed that Balogun has suffered a rib injury and it remains unclear how long the defender will spend in the treatment room.

The central defender's injury problems have refused to go away, coupled with his current contract situation which have limited his appearances to just 15 games from a possible 35 so far this season.

It would be recalled that he was withdrawn from the starting lineup in the Super Eagles pre-World Cup friendly against Serbia on March 27 as a precaution due to illness.

On his debut for the national team against Mexico in March 2014, the former Fortuna Dusseldorf center back suffered a serious injury which ruled him out of the World Cup in Brazil.

Ifeanyi Emmanuel