Henry Onyekuru has been handed a late call-up as replacement for the injured Odion Ighalo for Nigeria’s 2019 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying fixture against the Bafana Bafana of South Africa.
The encounter is billed for the FNB Stadium, Johannesburg next week Saturday.
The three-time African champions will also face the Cranes of Uganda in a friendly encounter at the Stephen Keshi Stadium, Asaba on November 20.
Ighalo sustained a harmstring injury in his club Changchun Yatai’s Chinese Super League clash against Tianjin Quanjin on Wednesday.
He was replaced in the 17th minute of the encounter by Lasse Vibe and will now be sidelined for up to five weeks.
Ighalo will also missed Changchun Yatai’s last league match of the season against Dalian Yifang, a big loss to the club who are fighting to escape the drop.
The former Watford striker has scored six goals in his last three apperances for Nigeria and has contributed 21 goals for Changchun Yatai in the CSL this season.
“@henryconyekuru replaces injured @ighalojude for game against South Africa. #SoarSuperEagles #Team9jaStrong #Afcon2019Q,” reads a tweet on the official Twitter handle of the Nigeria Football Federation.
Onyekuru only returned to action last weekend for his Turkish club, Galatasaray after picking up an injury in Nigeria’s last qualifying fixture against Libya in Sfax, Tunisia.
He was in action in Galatasaray’s 2-0 loss to German club, Schalke 04 in a UEFA Champions League clash on Tuesday.
Nigeria top Group E with nine points, one more than Bafana Bafana who sit in second position with eight points. Libya occupy third position with four points, while Seychelles have one point.
