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Soccer News of Monday, 18 December 2023

Source: www.punchng.com

Blow for Peseiro as Moffi suffers hamstring injury

Terem Moffi Terem Moffi

Terem Moffi has emerged as an injury doubt for next year’s Africa Cup of Nations in Ivory Coast after the OGC Nice striker suffered a hamstring injury ahead of the club’s Ligue 1 fixture against Le Havre on Saturday, PUNCH Sports Extra reports.

The French club announced on their X handle that the Super Eagles striker was not included in the match-day squad after he suffered the injury hours before their game.

The 24-year-old has been in fine form for Nice so far this season and has featured in all the club’s 15 league games before Saturday’s game against Le Havre.

Moffi has been an important figure for the Eaglets this campaign and has six goal contributions (four goals and two assists) in 15 appearances.

Having appeared in all the club’s games in the 2023/24 season, the former Lorient forward was on course for his 16th start of the season before picking up the injury that ruled him out of Saturday’s 3-1 defeat – their second of the season – to Le Havre.

“Affected in the ischios, Terem Moffi does not appear on the match sheet, just like Teddy Boulhendi and Daouda Traoré,” the club wrote.

According to bab.la online dictionary, ischios is quadriceps dominance theory identifies when the hamstring muscles are notably weaker than the quadriceps muscles.

On the recovery period, exakthealth wrote, “Minor strains that affect only a small portion of the muscle tissue can recover in four to six weeks. More severe strains that affect a large part of the muscle take eight to 12 weeks.”

While Nice are yet to state the extent of the striker’s injury, it is very unlikely that he will resume camp with the squad which put his AFCON spot in jeopardy.

This news will, however, come as a major blow to Jose Peseiro, who is already without Nottingham Forest’s Taiwo Awoniyi for the AFCON after the striker picked up a groin injury during the Eagles friendly game against Saudi Arabia in Portugal in October.

CAF on Friday confirmed that all the 24 Participating Member Associations had submitted their provisional squads for the tournament with Moffi almost guaranteed a spot in that list.

With the AFCON set to kick-off January 13, the Portuguese tactician will hope that the striker is fit enough and on time to be able to play at the biennial competition.

With only Victor Osimhen and Victor Boniface the two strikers whose spots are guaranteed barring any injuries, should the Nice striker not be fit in time for the AFCON, Peseiro may have to shift focus to Paul Onuachu, Gift Orban, Akor Adams and Sadiq Umar.