Bad news for Eguavoen as Sevilla coach confirms Ejuke suffered hamstring injury in loss to Barcelona

Three weeks before the international break in November, Nigeria's interim boss Augustine Eguavoen received bad news from Spain on Sunday night, with Sevilla coach García Pimienta confirming that Chidera Ejuke suffered a hamstring injury during the first half of the La Liga clash against Barcelona.

After two years in the international wilderness, Ejuke earned a recall to the national team for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers against Libya but was not utilized off the bench in the first leg staged in Uyo, while the second leg was postposed.

Despite not adding to his eight caps, Ejuke went through a grueling journey to return to the Andalusian province as the forward and his international teammates were stranded at the Al Abraq Airport in Libya for over sixteen hours until they flew back to Abuja after the intervention of the Nigerian government.

Trailing by three goals, Sevilla manager García Pimienta was forced to replace the Nigeria international due to injury, bringing Albert Sambi Lokonga on just as the first half entered stoppage time.

Just before the break, the Sevilla number 21 grabbed his hamstring while running and had to be helped off the pitch by the medical team, unable to stand on his left leg.

Speaking post-match, coach García Pimienta revealed that Ejuke faces a spell on the sidelines, although he did not put a timeframe on his recovery. 

In quotes relayed by Sevilla's official website, he said: "Ejuke is injured, he has felt a pain in his hamstring and we will see how long it lasts".

The timing of Ejuke's injury is unfortunate as he had forced his way into Sevilla's starting lineup over the past month and was back in favour with Nigeria. 

Ifeanyi Emmanuel 

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