The Nigerian winger continues to impress in the green and white colours of the Super Eagles, but he has not had the best of time this season with the French side
Super Eagles head coach Gernot Rohr has backed Samuel Kalu to put his injuries behind him and grow to become a better player for Bordeaux and Nigeria.
While identifying the reasons behind Kalu’s less-than-impressive campaign for Les Girondins, Rohr tasked the Ligue 1 side to monitor the well-being of the youngster so that they can get the best out of him.
Kalu has battled with injury problems this term, missing a chunk of Bordeaux’s league matches as the club battle to retain its top-flight status.
The 23-year-old has started just 14 of Bordeaux’s 37 league matches so far this term, spending about 973 minutes on the pitch compared to last term’s 1358 minutes in roughly as many games.
However, the former Gent playmaker has been more productive, netting one more goal than last season’s three while contributing another assist.
Rohr thinks that aside from his recurring injuries, off-field issues, including living in France without his family, may have also contributed to Kalu’s troubles this season.
“We had invited him for Nigeria’s last game, and the Girondins told us no, that they needed him to save themselves,” Rohr said, as per Girondins4Ever.
“And then he got hurt… They finally sent him to Nigeria anyway, so it was kind of weird.
“Still, the boy has a lot of injuries this year. I hope he is well supervised on all levels, mentally, medically, and sportingly. Every time he plays with me, he’s good, but it’s true that this season has been rotten with injuries. I hope he can help the Girondins for the end of the season.
“He was also a bit lonely without his family in Bordeaux. He lacked a little family support. But it’s going to get better and better.”
Kalu joined Bordeaux from Belgian side Gent in 2018 and was close to leaving the French side last summer.
The Nigerian international has a contract with Les Girondins until the summer of 2023.
