Super Eagles: Peseiro leaves out Osimhen and Chukwueze from Nigeria’s WCQ squad

Super Eagles coach Jose Peseiro is set to be without two of his best players, Victor Osimhen and Samuel Chukwueze for Nigeria’s World Cup Qualifying games against Zimbabwe and Lesotho. 

The Super Eagles will hope to banish the pain of missing the Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup when they start the qualifying campaign for the 2026 edition in the USA, Mexico and Canada. 

Nigeria start their campaign with a home clash against Lesotho on November 16 before taking on Zimbabwe three days later. 

However, Peseiro will be without Osimhen and Chukwueze, who have both been ruled out of the two encounters. 

The Portuguese tactician revealed this in an interview with TVplay via TuttoNapoli, stating Osimhen and Chukwueze will miss the two games later this month. 

Peseiro revealed the two players would not be in his squad because he did not want to complicate their current situation. 

"Osimhen and Chukwueze will not be called up during the next break, we want to avoid any risk. I was very sorry for their injuries: the clubs pay the players and we constantly collaborate with them," Peseiro told TVplay as per TuttoNapoli 

Peseiro’s decision not to call up both Osimhen and Chukwueze is understandable, as they both picked up their respective injuries while on international duty. 

The two players have been out of action since they represented Nigeria in last month’s international break. 

Osimhen is not expected to return for Napoli until the end of the month, while Chukwueze has missed AC Milan’s last three league games. 

The two players’ potential absence is a big blow for Nigeria, but the good news for Peseiro is that he has a wide range of attacking options to pick as replacements.