Onyekuru to replace Kalu for AFCON qualifiers

Galatasaray forward, Henry Onyekuru, is set to replace injured Bordeaux winger Samuel Kalu for the Super Eagles’ Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers against Benin Republic and Lesotho this month.

Kalu went off injured with a thigh injury during Bordeaux’s Ligue 1 clash at Dijon on Sunday and could be out of action for a month.

The injury means the 23-year-old has been automatically ruled out of the AFCON qualifiers and Onyekuru, who was one of seven players placed on standby by coach Gernot Rohr, has been tipped as the man to replace him due to his recent form with the Turkish giants.

“Galatasaray’s Henry Onyekuru @henryconyekuru will replace the injured Samuel Kalu in @NGSuperEagles squad for this month’s #AFCON qualifiers,” former Eagles media officer Colin Udoh tweeted.

Onyekuru had sent the Franco-German tactician a message with a brace in Galatasaray’s 3-0 victory over Kayserispor in Saturday’s Turkish Super Lig encounter.

The former Everton forward came off the bench to score two goals within eight minutes as the Lions boosted their title hopes with a vital win away from home.

His brace over the weekend means the striker has now scored five goals with two assists in his nine appearances for Galatasaray since his arrival in January on loan from AS Monaco.

The Eagles visit the Squirrels on March 27, before hosting Lesotho three days later in the final 2021 AFCON qualifiers at the Teslim Balogun Stadium in Lagos.

NP/Mercy Chukwudiebere