Nigeria Prays As Key Player Ndidi Suffers Hamstring Injury, Leicester Hope He's OK For World Cup

There is concern for Nigerians and manager Gernot Rohr over the fitness of Wilfred Ndidi ahead of the 2018 World Cup, with news that the Leicester City midfielder is headed for the treatment room.

The former Racing Genk starlet started the Foxes 5-0 loss to Crystal Palace on Saturday afternoon but had to sub out five minutes into the second half, and manager Claude Puel confirmed post-match that it is a hamstring-related injury.

It means five players Rohr is planning to name on the Super Eagles World Cup roster in the shape of Eddy Onazi, Leon Balogun, Tyronne Ebuehi, Joel Obi and Ndidi will have to be properly assessed before that announcement is made in the next two weeks or so.

''The red card was harsh. It was a battle between two players, both making contact. It happened during a crazy five minutes with the injury to Ndidi that left the team so imbalanced,'' Puel said.

The Frenchman added when questioned about Ndidi's injury: ''I’m feeling bad for him. It’s a hamstring injury. I hope it’s not bad and he can make the World Cup''.

This season, Wilfred Ndidi has played 45 games in total for club and country, logging 3,920 minutes.

Ifeanyi Emmanuel