Exclusive reports from Allnigeriasoccer.com reveal that Leicester City’s Wilfred Ndidi has made the decision to withdraw from the Nigerian squad for the upcoming 2026 World Cup qualifiers against Lesotho and Zimbabwe. This comes before the official squad announcement by the Nigeria Football Federation.
Ndidi now joins three other key players, Zaidu Sanusi, Victor Osimhen, and Samuel Chukwueze, who will also be unavailable for selection due to injuries. Osimhen and Chukwueze are currently recovering from hamstring injuries sustained during the Super Eagles training camp in Portugal, while Sanusi is dealing with a muscle-related injury.
Prior to Leicester City’s match against Sunderland, Ndidi underwent a scan and was advised by the team’s medical staff to rest until further investigation could be conducted. Ultimately, Leicester City’s medical team recommended that he take a few weeks off, including during the upcoming FIFA window in November 2023, effectively ruling him out of the World Cup qualifiers.
In addition to missing the international matches, Ndidi is expected to sit out Leicester City’s next two games in the Championship against Leeds United and Middlesbrough. He has already missed consecutive matches against Sunderland and Queens Park Rangers.
Super Eagles manager, Jose Peseiro, has called up midfielders Joe Aribo, Alex Iwobi, Raphael Onyedika, Frank Onyeka, and Fisayo Dele-Bashiru for the October internationals. Peseiro is also closely monitoring Antwerp star Alhassan Yusuf and may consider giving him his debut in the coming month.
