Rohr Hands Late Call-up To Abdullahi Shehu To Replace FC Midtjylland's Champions League Star

Published: November 09, 2020

Nigeria manager Gernot Rohr has handed a late call-up to Omonia Nikosia summer signing Abdullahi Shehu ahead of the national team's upcoming 2021 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying matches against Sierra Leone, allnigeriasoccer.com reports.

FC Midtjylland central midfielder Frank Onyeka has withdrawn from the squad citing an injury.

It is thought that the FC Ebedei product picked up the injury during FC Midtjylland's 4-0 rout of FC Copenhagen in the Danish Superliga on Sunday evening, a game in which he went the distance.

Onyeka has struggled with fitness issues for a significant part of the new season so much so that he has been used sparingly in the league by manager Brian Priske, who has named him in the starting lineup only on three occasions from a possible eight, and wasn't named in the matchday squad in four games.

He has started all the seven matches contested by the Wolves in European competition this season, including three in the group stage of the prestigious Champions League.

The 22-year-old suffered an injury while on international duty with the Super Eagles last month in Austria and wasn't considered for the 1-1 draw with Tunisia, four days after his senior debut vs Algeria.

Rohr has gone for a like-for-like replacement by drafting in Shehu, who is originally a central midfielder and is being deployed in the same position at his new club Omonia Nikosia.

Ifeanyi Emmanuel

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