How Nottingham Forest forced Nigeria to drop Ola Aina from AFCON 2025 squad

Nigeria will enter the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations without their first-choice right-back after Ola Aina was left out of Eric Chelle’s 28-man squad, Soccernet.ng reports.

The omission, confirmed late Thursday night, is one of the biggest selection blows to the Super Eagles’ preparations for Morocco.

Chelle had retained quiet optimism that Aina would recover in time.

The defender, who underwent hamstring surgery after suffering an injury in September’s World Cup qualifier against South Africa, had been included in the original 54-man provisional list, with the manager hopeful the additional weeks would prove enough for a late return.

Aina himself was desperate to make the tournament, having played an important role in Nigeria’s run to the AFCON final last year. That silver medal followed the bronze Aina, one of the Eagles' most dependable performers, won at the 2019 edition in Egypt.

The squad, rich with several highly-rated players, quietly believes a fourth AFCON title and Nigeria’s first in 12 years, is within their reach. But those ambitions have now been dealt a significant setback.

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Ola Aina: Dyche leaves no room for interpretation as Nigeria adjust

Chelle remained in regular contact with Nottingham Forest for medical updates, hoping for any positive shift in Aina’s rehabilitation.

Instead, manager Sean Dyche delivered the defining verdict, insisting the defender was nowhere close to ready.

Dyche was unequivocal, saying as per The Guardian: “It's just that he's not fit. He hasn't been fit, he's still not fit. He hasn't played any football yet. So, that's all we can offer to that situation, that he's still not fit. We've made that very clear (to Nigeria).”

Compounding the setback, fellow defensive option Benjamin Fredrick remains unavailable with a knee injury, while captain William Troost-Ekong’s international retirement last week further reduced the pool of experienced defenders.

The situation forced Chelle into bold selection decisions, handing a first-ever call-up to Blackburn Rovers’ Ryan Alebiosu. The 23-year-old is one of five new faces, joining midfielders Usman Muhammed, Ebenezer Akinsanmiro, Tochukwu Nnadi, and forward Salim Fago Lawal.

There was, however, no place for Wolverhampton Wanderers striker Tolu Arokodare, who featured in the CAF World Cup play-off defeat to DR Congo but has been omitted for the AFCON trip.