Super Eagles star Oghenekaro Etebo has been ruled out of Stoke City's first competitive game of the new season against Queens Park Rangers on Saturday, August 3, allnigeriasoccer.com understands.

The central midfielder did not take part in the Potters pre-season because of international commitments with the Nigeria squad at the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations.

Etebo was the only Super Eagles player that started and went the distance in all the seven matches played by Gernot Rohr's team in Egypt.

FIFA recommends that players involved in such tournaments should be given three weeks to recharge their batteries before resuming duties with their respective teams.

Based on Etebo's itinerary, he will arrive in Stoke-on-Trent on Thursday, August 8, which means there's a possibility that he could be rested for the trip to Charlton Athletic two days later.

In his debut season in England, the 23-year-old appeared in 37 official matches, scoring two goals.

Ifeanyi Emmanuel

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