Another Top Nigerian Striker, Onuachu May Miss AFCON Over Injury
Nigeria’s leading scorer in Europe this season, Paul Onuachu, is a major doubt for January’s Africa Cup of Nations finals in Cameroon.
The 27-year-old suffered a hamstring injury during Genk’s 1-1 draw with Royal Antwerp in Belgium on Sunday.
Genk have not put an exact timeframe on his return but Onuachu has been ruled out for up to four weeks, with the Nations Cup set to kick off in 20 days’ time.
“He suffered a muscle tear. I already had the feeling that I had to replace him, but he said he could continue.” Genk manager Bernd Storck told Belgian newspaper Sporza.
“And then he suffered a hamstring injury during a spurt. He will not be able to play for the next three, four weeks.”
His injury is another blow to Nigeria ahead of the tournament, which begins on 9 January, as the Super Eagles sweat over the availability of Napoli’s Victor Osimhen and Watford midfielder Oghenekaro Peter Etebo.
His injury could mean that in-form Union Berlin striker Taiwo Awoniyi and Emmanuel Dennis of Watford are named in the preliminary squad.
Onuachu, who was the top African scorer in Europe during the 2020/21 season with 33 goals, was expected to play a prominent role for the Super Eagles in Cameroon.
