Lorient’s Nigerian forward suffers horror injury, could be ‘out for a long time’

The youngster has been flourishing for Wim De Decker’s men before succumbing to a blow that may mark the end of his season

Lorient forward Taofeek Ismaheel has suffered a horrible knee injury that may keep him out of competitive action for the rest of the campaign.

Taofeek Ismaheel has been on a temporary stay at SK Beveren, having joined the Belgian second-division side on loan on August 10.

Unfortunately, the 22-year-old landed awkwardly and twisted his knee in the second half of Beveren’s straightforward 2-0 win at home to Beerschot in a Challenger Pro League clash on Sunday.

The win sent Beveren to the top of the league table, putting the Wim De Decker-tutored in a good position to achieve their promotion target.

But the injury to Ismaheel punctured the joy of the home team and manager Wim De Decker confesses that the Nigerian forward’s knee looked terrible and the player may be on the treatment table for a long time.

“The splinting took a long time to avoid taking any risks,” explains De Decker, as per Nieuwsblad.

“But his knee doesn’t look good. At a time like this, you hope we don’t lose him for long. But that may be naive. I fear he will be out for a long time. Especially when I saw the movement. I still hope that the results tomorrow will be better than expected.”

Committed to Lorient until 2025, Ismaheel had been enjoying his time in Belgium before the injury setback. 

The former Vålerenga winger had created four goals in 15 league appearances for SKB while he netted once in two matches in the Beker van Belgie.