Chippa United head coach Vusimuzi Vilakazi has expressed concern that Super Eagles goalkeeper Stanley Nwabali may not recover in time for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Morocco, as he continues to battle both ankle and hand injuries.
Nwabali has been sidelined since returning from international duty, where he featured for Nigeria in the CAF World Cup playoffs semifinal and final against Gabon and DR Congo respectively.
His absence has forced Chippa United to rely on Dumisani Msibi, who has started the club’s last three matches, keeping two clean sheets. Despite Msibi’s efforts, the Chilli Boys have failed to pick up a win during that run, recording two draws and a defeat.
The poor run of results has left Chippa United rooted to the bottom of the Premier Soccer League table with nine points from 15 matches. Now, concerns have heightened over Nwabali’s availability for the AFCON, with Vilakazi admitting the goalkeeper faces a race against time.
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“I doubt it, looking at the state of his injury,” the coach told supersports.com.
“I don’t think he will make it, but when I was talking to him, he was confident that he will recover very soon, but obviously you will understand because he’s a player he wants to be there at the Cup of Nations finals.”
“But the reality is saying for now he is still injured. I also hope for the best that he might find himself there,” Vilakazi added.
“It’s an ankle injury, but then also the hand needs an operation because he’s been playing with that (injured) hand for a while now and he aggravated the injury while he was in Morocco.”
Despite the fitness worry, Super Eagles head coach Eric Chelle included Nwabali in his 54-man provisional squad announced last week. Chelle is yet to trim the list to his final selection for the tournament.
The Super Eagles will begin their AFCON campaign on Tuesday, December 23 against Tanzania at the Complexe Sportif de Fes, before facing Tunisia on December 27 and concluding the group stage against Uganda on December 30.
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