'We didn't cry in our rooms' – Eric Chelle insists Super Eagles not distracted by Osimhen injury

Super Eagles coach Eric Chelle faced the media on Monday ahead of his team's blockbuster 2026 World Cup qualifier against South Africa, and among the questions put to him was the absence of his star centre-forward Victor Osimhen.

The former African Footballer of the Year sustained an injury during the first half of the Super Eagles' 1-0 victory over Rwanda in Uyo on Saturday and was replaced by Cyriel Dessers in the 35th minute.

Nigeria's medical staff were unable to patch up the ex-Napoli striker before the team departed for South Africa, confirming that he suffered a chin bruise and later experienced discomfort, which ruled him out of the upcoming fixture against Bafana Bafana. 

Osimhen, Nigeria's top scorer in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers with three goals in as many matches, is now set to miss his fifth fixture of the campaign, having already sat out clashes against Lesotho, Zimbabwe, Benin and South Africa.

His absence is the biggest talking point ahead of Tuesday's fixture in Bloemfontein, but Chelle insists the squad remains focused and unaffected by the striker's unavailability.

"Osimhen is a big star, a very good player. Like I said, I have a strong squad too, with great players on my side. They are enough for me," Chelle told reporters at the pre-match press conference.

"I will tell you something, they want to play a great game here once again, so we don’t have the time to say Victor is not here or maybe we cried in our rooms after his injury.

"We are together. We think about our brother, but we have a game, and we are united for tomorrow."

South Africa have not lost to Nigeria in a competitive home game since 2008. 

Ifeanyi Emmanuel

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