Super Eagles star faces anxious wait as Leverkusen coach reveals injury extent

Bayer Leverkusen head coach Carles Martinez has revealed how long Super Eagles forward Nathan Tella could spend on the sidelines with injury, Soccernet.ng reports.

The 27-year-old featured in Die Werkself’s first game of the season, during a 4-0 DFB-Pokal win over Wehen Wiesbaden in late August. Tella came on as a second-half substitute and made an immediate impact, scoring Leverkusen’s third goal just four minutes after entering the game.

However, that has proved to be his only appearance so far this season, with the Super Eagles attacker missing Leverkusen’s opening two Bundesliga games due to an undisclosed injury.

Tella was absent from the opening-day defeat to Elversberg and also missed the 2-0 victory over Union Berlin in their second league game of the campaign.

The former Burnley forward had missed games during pre-season after he also endured another injury-hit campaign last season, sitting out 28 official matches across all competitions during the 2025-26 season.

His absence was particularly costly towards the end of the campaign, as he missed the final games of the season when Leverkusen failed to secure Champions League qualification.

Martinez provides injury update on Nathan Tella

Bayer Leverkusen will be hoping to build on their recent victory and make it two Bundesliga wins in a row when they face Augsburg on Saturday.

Ahead of the clash, Martinez, who took charge of the German club in the summer, provided an update on Tella’s condition and revealed that the winger is still not ready to return, although he has been making progress in his recovery.

“With Nathan and Montrell, we're making progress, but they're not there yet. Maybe they will use the international break, these two to three weeks, to prepare”, the Leverkusen coach told Bild.

Tella set to miss another Super Eagles opportunity

The 27-year-old made his Super Eagles debut in 2023 during Nigeria’s 1-1 draw with Zimbabwe in a World Cup qualifying match.

However, he has made only one more appearance for the national team since then. His second appearance came in the Unity Cup final against Jamaica in 2025, when Nigeria eventually won on penalties.

His absence from the Super Eagles setup has partly been linked to injuries and fitness concerns, with the Nigerian forward also missing a large number of games for Leverkusen last season.

Tella had previously spoken about his determination to stay fit this season after another frustrating spell on the sidelines and he made it clear that avoiding another lengthy absence was one of his main targets for the campaign.

“My main goal for this season is that I do not miss five weeks again after a good game,” Tella had previously said.

Unfortunately for the Nigerian forward, his latest injury means he is facing another lengthy spell out of action. With his return date now set to be October, Tella is set to miss the upcoming international break and will also be unavailable for the Super Eagles’ next AFCON qualifying fixtures.

The 27-year-old will now be focused on regaining full fitness as he looks to establish himself as a more important player for Leverkusen this season.