Rohr Fears For Abdullahi Shehu & Ahmed Musa Ahead Of Croatia Match

Published: June 12, 2018

Nigeria coach Gernot Rohr is worried about Bursaspor defender Abdullahi Shehu and Leicester City striker Ahmed Musa ahead of his side's World Cup opener against Croatia on Saturday, June 16.

The former Bayern Munich defender has expressed his concerns that the Ramadan fasting, which ends on Thursday, June 14, will affect their performance in the game with the Croats, especially the right-back who is tipped to be named in the starting lineup.

'For the first game, it will not be easy to put it away,'' said Rohr to the German Press Agency.

''The energy loss is difficult to balance in such a short time. We'll probably lug it into the first game.''

During Ramadan, Muslims abstain from eating any food and drinking from sunrise to sunset; travelers can be exempted from fasting but they should make up for lost fast days later.

Abdullahi Shehu started Nigeria's last two games against England and Czech Republic but was substituted at half-time.

Igho Kingsley