Super Eagles suffer Nations Cup setback after Paul Onuachu picks up hamstring injury

NIGERIA'S Super eagles have suffered another major striking blow ahead of next month's African Cup of Nations as targetman Paul Onuachu has been ruled out of the tournament with a hamstring injury.

Onuachu, 27, has been on fire this season with his Belgian club Genk, attracting the attention of English Premier League clubs like Aston Villa and Arsenal. Already, Nigeria has lost the services of first choice targetman Victor Osimhen, who is out of the tournament with a fractured jaw, so the loss of Onuachu, who would have been a potential replacement is a big blow.

Over the weekend, however, Onuachu picked up an injury in Genk’s 1-1 draw against Royal Antwerp after scoring his 12th league goal of the season. With about three weeks to the Nations Cup, Onuachu walked off with the aid of Genk’s medical team in the 71st minute after picking up a hamstring injury expected to keep him out for three to four weeks.

With the African Cup of Nations starting on January 9 in Cameroon, interim coach Austin Eguavoen will now have to find a replacement striker. Nigeria begins her African Cup of Nations campaign with a clash against Egypt on January 11 before taking on Sudan and Guinea-Bissau later on in the group stage.