Super Eagles and Leicester City player Wilfred Ndidi was missing from the Foxes squad that defeated Huddersfield Town 4-1 in a Championship match on New Year's Day.
The win saw the coach Enzo Maresca-led side go ten points clear at the top of the table in their quest to gain promotion to the Premier League after going down last season.
Ndidi joined his Nigerian team-mate Kelechi Iheanacho on the injury list and that has cast some doubts about his availability for the Super Eagles when the Africa Cup of Nations gets underway in Ivory Coast.
Foxes manager Maresca confirmed that he suffered an injury in the wake of last Friday’s win at Cardiff and so missed out but that the Nigerian pair will join their international teammates at the pre-tournament camp in Abu Dhabi. However, the coach insists that Ndidi might not be fit enough to play.
“Kele and Wilf are both injured, but they are now going to be with the international team,” Maresca said after City extended their unbeaten run to 10 matches.
“We’ll see if they’re going to keep them or send them back. But they are both injured unfortunately for us.
Ndidi, who has made 54 appearances for the Super Eagles since he made his debut in 2015, has been an integral part of the team and will be eyeing his third appearance at the AFCON as he was included in Nigeria's AFCON squad.
He's played in 11 games in the competition but has yet to find the back of the net since playing in his first competition at the 2019 edition in Egypt.
The Super Eagles camp for the Africa football showpiece officially opens on Tuesday in Abu Dhabi where finishing touches are expected to be perfected as they chase a fourth title in Ivory Coast.
Jose Peseiro’s side were drawn in AFCON 2023 – Group A and will play its opening group game against Equatorial Guinea on the 14th of January.
Nigeria last won the Africa Cup of Nations title in 2013 under the guidance of former captain and coach, late Stephen Keshi.
