Cyriel Dessers will not make his Africa Cup of Nations debut this month as the former Rangers striker has been ruled out of the ongoing tournament in Morocco due to fitness concerns.

A press release shared with allnigeriasoccer.com confirmed that Dessers was not among the twenty-five players that trained on Friday, January 2.

The Panathinaikos forward is sidelined with a thigh injury and has returned to his Greek club for further assessment. 

His inclusion in Nigeria's final Afcon squad had sparked debate as he had been out of action for several weeks, only returning to club football on November 30.

The 31-year-old featured in the Super Eagles' pre-Afcon friendly against Egypt, coming off the bench at half-time to replace Ebenezer Akinsanmiro.

Ryan Alebiosu, who sustained a deep cut to his right leg during his cap-tying appearance against Uganda three days ago, attended Friday's session as a spectator while continuing his recovery. 

Zulte Waregem midfielder Tochukwu Nnadi also missed training, sidelined with a cold.

Meanwhile, Super Eagles coach Eric Chelle urged the squad to move past their group stage successes and focus on Monday's round of 16 clash against Mozambique's Mambas.