Ndidi’s replacement Bonke will do a good job if selected to play
Ndidi’s replacement Bonke will do a good job if selected to play
Interim Technical Adviser of the Super Eagles, Austin Eguavoen has said Lorient midfielder, Innocent Bonke will do a decent job of given the chance to play against Ghana.
Eguavoen said while addressing journalists at a Press Conference on Wednesday in Abuja.
When quizzed on the absence of Wilfred Ndidi and what it means to the current condition of the team, Eguavoen said the he trusts the man called to replace the Leicester midfielder.
“I work hard on information. I believe strongly in the fact that everyone invited to the team is good enough to start. I know what to expect from Bonke and so I trust him well enough to do a good job if he is selected to play,” he said.
Ndidi suffered a medial ligament injury to his knee during Leicester’s round of 16 Europa Conference League second leg battle against Rennes. The injury was reported to rule him out for some weeks.
Bonke, currently plying his trade at Lorient was invited as his replacement and was one of the early arrivals in the camp of the Super Eagles.
The former FF Malmo midfielder has had two previous caps with the Super Eagles.
Eguavoen also discussed the team’s outing at the AFCON and said he has put that behind him, while he’s fully focused on the games ahead.
“I don’t want to talk about nor think about the last AFCON. It is gone, we have learnt the lessons from it. This matches against Ghana are the focus now and they are too important for one to be looking back.”
Skipper Ahmed Musa has said passionate fans in Kumasi will not be a problem as he has played on grounds with very vocal fans. He said there’s enough experience for the team to weather such storms.
“I have not played in Ghana previously but I have played at grounds were the fans are very passionate so this will not be a problem for us as a team. We do have the experience,” Musa said.
William Troost-Ekong, the Vice captain also said the game is enough motivation for players as they don’t need to ginger anyone to be in sync with the magnitude of the contest.
“The good thing about this match is that there is absolutely little need to ginger any of our players before the match. Indeed, what we need to do is to make sure we are all calm enough to execute our game on the day,” the Watford defender told journalists.