Frank Onyeka shrugs off Covid-19 as Brentford suffer first Premier League stumble

The young midfielder pulled out of the Super Eagles squad for their last two World Cup qualifiers after testing positive for COVID-19

Frank Onyeka featured for the last 15 minutes as Brentford suffered a 0-1 loss to Brighton Hove Albion at the Brentford community stadium on Saturday.

Onyeka tested positive for Covid-19 two weeks ago, just before the international break, which ruled him out of the World Cup qualifiers against Liberia and Cape Verde. In his absence, the Super Eagles defeated the Lone Star 2-0 in Lagos before edging Cape Verde 2-1 in Mindelo.

The 23-year-old returned to training early this week but only started from the bench against the Seagulls.

Brentford manager Thomas Frank introduced the former FC Midtjylland ace in the 75th-minute in place of Shandon Baptiste, with the scores locked at nil-nil.

But Onyeka could do nothing to stop the Bees from falling behind as Leandro Trossard's 90th-minute winner settled the tie in the visitors.

It is Brentford's first loss in four games since their promotion to the English Premier League.