Former Super Eagles’ shot-stoppers Ike Shorunmu and Segun Oguns have stated that the Nigerian team will not miss their first choice goalie when she take on Bafana Bafana team in Johannesburg.
The Super Eagles first choice goalkeeper sustained an injury in his club’s 5-1 defeat by Cadiz in the Spanish second tier league, with the club announcing on Monday that the goalkeeper suffered an injury to ribs which would rule him out for four weeks.
“The tests carried out today (Monday) at Clinica Tesla revealed that football player Francis Uzoho has a fracture of the seventh costal arch. Estimated time of return: four weeks,” the club wrote on Twitter on Monday.
Despite the huge loss facing the Super Eagles prior to the crunch game against South Africa. Shorunmu and Oguns believes that his injury is an oppurtuinity for other young talents to prove their worth.
The goalkeeper has been the favorite of Super Eagles head coach Genort Rohr, but his absence means that the German tactician will have to rely on Ikechukwu Ezenwa and Daniel Akpeyi against the South African team.
“A player’s absence from the team should not put the team in disarray. The fact that Uzoho is the number one doesn’t mean that he will be there forever — his injury should not throw the team into a crisis,” he said.
“There are other goalkeepers in the team who were invited because they were good enough for the team. This is an opportunity for them to prove themselves to the coach that they can be the team’s number one.
“Any goalkeeper chosen for the match may make or mar the game but it is also a chance for the coach to try other options in that position. The team will not miss him because no player is indispensable.”
Oguns went further to suggest that Genort Rohr should pick a home-based goalkeeper for the game.
He said, “The coach should replace the injured keeper with a good alternative from the many good ones we have in the local league. The team will not miss him because sadly enough the three goalkeepers in the team are not the best the country has.
“But with Uzoho out, it is an opportunity for the others to stake a claim to the starting role. Injuries are part of the game and it can happen anytime. I believe the team will not miss him because a good replacement will do the job.”