Super Eagles star Ademola Lookman after winning the Europa League (Photo credit: Imago)
Super Eagles forward Ademola Lookman is a big doubt for Atalanta’s UEFA Champions League round of 16 playoffs against Club Brugge, Soccernet.ng reports.
La Dea have a tough battle ahead as they play Club Brugge for a place in the round of 16 of the Champions League.
Recall that Atalanta finished 9th in the standings, and in the current format of the competition, clubs that finished 9th to 24th will participate in the playoffs to get into the round of 16.
La Dea’s first leg against Club Brugge is set for February 12 at the Jan Breydel Stadium. And going into the fixture, Atalanta are suffering some injury problems.
Stars like Gianluca Scamacca, Giorgio Scalvini, Daniel Maldini, and Odilon Kossounou will miss the game. Also, Nigerian forward Lookman will likely be sidelined for the encounter.
The 27-year-old winger sustained a knee injury two weeks ago. At first, there were fears that it was a serious injury, but Lookman returned to light training last week.
Ahead of the game, Foot Italia reports that Lookman will likely miss the game as he is not fully fit yet.
This will be a big miss for Atalanta, as Lookman is their joint-highest goalscorer in the Champions League.
Lookman will miss the first leg against Club Brugge, except a miracle happens. However, he should be available for action by the end of the week when Atalanta play Cagliari.
The Super Eagles star will likely start from the bench against Cagliari to regain his match fitness. Then he should start the second leg next week.
Atalanta will be cautious with Lookman as he is their biggest asset, and they will not want a relapse. They will hope to get a good result in Belgium before finishing the job in Italy next week.
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