Super Eagles coach Gernot Rohr has explained his thinking behind bringing on Fortuna Düsseldorf goalkeeper Maduka Okoye instead of Ikechukwu Ezenwa when Francis Uzoho suffered an injury in the 63rd minute of his side's 1-1 draw against Brazil on Sunday.
The Franco-German tactician noted that Ezenwa, who is number two in the pecking order of goalkeepers, has not tasted action since the conclusion of the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations whereas Okoye was active for Fortuna Düsseldorf's reserve team in the Regionalliga West.
''We decided to put in Maduka because Ezenwa didn't play for months, not even in the CHAN Team,'' Rohr said in an interview with the Super Eagles Media Team.
''He didn't have any experience of competition in the last three months so we decided to play with Maduka because he was playing for his club''.
''He didn't have any experience of competition in the last three months so we decided to play with Maduka because he was playing for his club''.
Ahead of Nigeria's first competitive games post-AFCON, Rohr is hopeful the injury suffered by Uzoho is not serious.
He added : ''Francis had a great match, we regret so much his injury, he will have examinations tomorrow so we will see exactly.
''He is playing again in his club so he can come back with us to play. I hope he will not be out for a long time because we have two important matches to play, against Benin in Nigeria and Lesotho, so we have a lot of work to do''.
''He is playing again in his club so he can come back with us to play. I hope he will not be out for a long time because we have two important matches to play, against Benin in Nigeria and Lesotho, so we have a lot of work to do''.
Düsseldorf-born Okoye played his first international game against the Brazilians.
Ifeanyi Emmanuel
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