Which highest rated Nigerians will Super Eagles miss against bitter rivals Ghana and Mali?

The Nigerian national team the Super Eagles are set to be significantly depleted for their international double-header friendlies against rivals Ghana and Mali later this month.

According to the latest player statistics, the Super Eagles will be without the services of the top three highest-rated Nigerian players currently plying their trade in Europe's elite leagues.

Top of that list is Bayer Leverkusen main man Victor Boniface, who has earned a stellar 7.81 rating from data analysts at WhoScored for his impressive debut season before injury struck.

The 23-year-old, who had blasted 16 goals along with eight assists across competitions before getting sidelined in January, is still recovering his fitness and will miss out on the games in Morocco.

Boniface's absence will be compounded by that of talisman Victor Osimhen, who has maintained his reputation as one of the world's deadliest strikers with a 6.91 rating while scoring 13 goals for Napoli.

Osimhen watched from the bench as the Italian champions battled to a 1-1 draw against Serie A leaders Inter Milan on Sunday due to a knock.

In a bizarre call, the third highest-rated Nigerian in Europe's top five leagues, goalkeeper Maduka Okoye, has once again been overlooked for selection despite his 6.88 rating.

The Udinese shot-stopper has kept three clean sheets in 12 Serie A outings but continues to be frozen out at international level by Nigeria, who is set to be managed by interim head coach Finidi George.

With several of their big hitters set to miss the crucial qualifying double-header, the Super Eagles have it all to do against the Black Stars of Ghana and an improving Malian outfit.

Finidi will need others to spectacularly step up in the absence of the squad's elite European-based performers if Nigeria is to escape its West African neighbours unscathed.