Nigeria captain John Obi Mikel was injured in the 1-0 Africa Cup of
Nations win over Tanzania on Saturday, Nigeria coach Gernot Rohr has
revealed.
Mikel was surprisingly taken off shortly after the restart with the
game still in a stalemate but Rohr has confirmed that the midfielder was
injured, prompting his substitution.
“Mikel asked to be replaced because he was injured and I took the
precaution to do so because I did not want to hurt the club and the
player,” Rohr confirmed after the game.
The Chelsea midfielder went close to scoring for Nigeria, but was denied Tanzania goalkeeper, Aishi Manula.
Mikel, 29, has been in inspired form for Nigeria lately, and
impressed throughout for the Nigerian U23 side as they won the Bronze
medal at the recently ended Olympic Games in Brazil.
Meanwhile, the Super Eagles went on to score the winner in the 78th
minute after Mikel had left the pitch, with Manchester City forward
Kelechi Iheanacho scoring a wonder-goal to start Rohr’s reign with a
victory.
