Super Eagles and Ikeme are a perfect match — Kanu
Stoke City boss, Mark Hughes confirms Nigeria’s Peter Osaze Odemwingie will play with the club reserves against Fulham at Britannia to regain match fitness following his return from an injury lay-off.
Hughes said this while sharing the news of the Super Eagles player’s return in a press conference ahead of the Barclays Premier League fixture against Arsenal yesterday.
“Peter is back amongst the group and has looked really bright to be honest, but we feel that he may well be best served playing in the Under 21 fixture at the weekend.
“Whilst he is progressing and getting closer, he is still short of match fitness so hopefully the game on Saturday will help push him on,” added the Welsh coach, who is sweating on the fitness of three of his key firstteam personnel Mame Diouf and Glen Johnson, who are both still struggling after suffering injuries in the 1-0 defeat against West Bromwich Albion prior to the international break.
He said: “We will have to see Former Super Eagles skipper Nwankwo Kanu hailed the impact made by new Nigerian goalkeeper Carl Ikeme in the African Cup of Nations qualifier against Tanzania in Dar es Salaam saying the country now has a shot stopper they could perfectly rely on to perform.
“Though we didn’t win against Tanzania but we gained a son, he was wonderful; we finally have the goalkeeper we have been waitng for. We know Enyeama won’t be around forever so it’s good that he was discovered now, I wish him well” the ex-Arsenal legend said in an interview with thecable.ng
Meanwhile, The Wolverhampton Wanderers 29-year-old goalkeeper who produced dazzling performance in his competitive debut told supersport. com on his return to England: “It was indeed a tough game but we managed to keep the Tanzanians at bay.
“Playing in your first game for a team like Nigeria is not easy because there are many expectations that include fitting the big shoes left by Vincent Enyeama who has been amazing for us. I am glad I kept a clean sheet and wish to take time out to thank my team mates who have been amazing and welcomed me from the moment I arrived.
“I hope to continue from where I left off and if given the chance. All I can say it was indeed a great feeling putting on that jersey for Nigeria and a dream come true for me. The team is young so we can expect better results as we go along in subsequent matches.
“One thing is for sure, Football dynamics have changed especially in Africa where we no longer have small teams unlike before. This just means we will all have to work harder in the coming matches, especially with Egypt looming up.” Ikeme was the Man of the Match on Saturday as he kept the Taifa stars marauding strikers at bay.