CAF Young POTY nominee Gift Orban returns to action after injury relapse

On the same day he was nominated for the men's Young Player of the Year by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) ,Gift Orban returned to action as Gent advanced to the next round of the Croky Cup after a 3-1 win over Patro Eisden Maasmechelen. 

Orban had been rated as doubtful to take to the pitch on Wednesday after he suffered an injury relapse in the build-up to the Jupiler Pro League clash versus Standard Liege last weekend. 

Gent manager Hein Vanhaezebrouck explained after the game that the 2023 Super Eagles invitee was struggling to overcome a groin problem.

The 21-year-old passed a fitness test before the trip to Patro Eisden Maasmechelen, paving the way for him to be named in the starting lineup to face the Challenger Pro League side.

Prior to yesterday's game, Orban had not made a full recovery since he suffered a training ground injury while on international duty with the Super Eagles - an ailment that saw him dropped from the matchday squad for the Africa Cup of Nations qualifying match against São Tomé and Príncipe.

Orban was on the pitch for 82 minutes against Patro Eisden Maasmechelen before making way for Matisse Samoise, shortly after Gent scored their third goal through Sven Kums.

Gent's other scorers were Tarik Tissoudali and Hyun-seok Hong while Hadj Moussa headed in a consolation goal for the home team.

Ifeanyi Emmanuel 

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