Nigeria international central defender Igoh Ogbu is set to spend another period on the sidelines after sustaining an injury during the second half of Slavia Prague's 4–1 defeat to Pafos on Wednesday night, allnigeriasoccer.com reports.

Ogbu's fitness had been a major concern earlier in the season, with his involvement at the recently concluded Africa Cup of Nations initially in doubt due to a persistent hamstring problem.

However, the defender recovered in time to earn a place in Nigeria's 28-man travelling squad and went on to feature in three matches during the tournament in Morocco.

Unfortunately, Ogbu suffered a recurrence of the hamstring injury during the match against Pafos and was forced off just after the hour mark, making way for Daiki Hashioka. 

The setback comes after a similar issue had previously kept him out of action for three months.

At the time of his substitution, Slavia Prague were trailing 2-1 as they searched for their first Champions League victory of the season.

Stepan Chaloupek had earlier cancelled out Vlad Dragomir’s opener, but Bruno restored Pafos' lead nine minutes into the second half. 

Late goals from Anderson Silva and Mislav Oršić compounded Slavia Prague's woes, condemning the reigning Czech champions to a heavy 4-1 defeat.

Ogbu has made seven starts from a possible twenty-nine appearances across all competitions so far this season.

Ifeanyi Emmanuel