'I'll be ready to play on Friday' - Troost-Ekong dismisses spurious claims he may miss Nigeria v Angola 

William Troost-Ekong has dismissed spurious claims that he may not be available for selection on Friday, February 2 when the Super Eagles face off with Angola in the quarterfinals of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations.

The central defender along with Victor Osimhen sat out the Super Eagles recovery session on Monday, fueling speculation that they were both doubtful for the clash with the Palancas Negras. 

The official word from those upstairs in the Super Eagles setup is that Troost-Ekong and Osimhen were only given a breather in order to recharge their batteries after the physically demanding game against Cameroon and should return to full training on Tuesday. 

Troost-Ekong has confirmed as much, saying that he is ready to start against Angola if selected by manager Jose Peseiro. 

The central defender suffered a knock against Ivory Coast and was fit enough to be named on the bench versus Guinea-Bissau, before going the distance in the round of 16 clash against Cameroon. 

Speaking to reporters in Abidjan, Troost-Ekong said: "You are going to see a team as motivated as we have been for the whole tournament.

"Our message has stayed the same throughout. We're going to be trying to improve what we did. It's going to be a tough game."

Explaining why he was not involved in Monday's recovery session, Troost-Ekong said: "I'm struggling with a small injury since the Ivory Coast game so I'm just trying to manage myself. But I'll be ready to play on Friday if the coach selects me."

Troost-Ekong has three goals to his name in AFCON tournaments and will be aiming to equal the legendary Stephen Keshi as the top scoring Nigerian defender in the history of the competition on Friday. 

Ifeanyi Emmanuel 

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