Super Eagles head coach Gernot Rohr has reiterated that John Mikel Obi is still part of the team and he’s availability for the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations will be decided in the coming days.
Mikel has not featured for Nigeria since the country’s last group game against Argentina at the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia as he failed to appear in any of Nigeria’s six games in the qualifiers prompting speculations that he might have decided to quit international football.
Rohr said, “This is the question that I and my team will resolve. I will soon go to see him at Boro. There are many things to consider but I respect him and what he has done for Nigeria.
“He remains an important player. He has been away from the team for a year but we qualified for the AFCON without him. His absence, as our captain, has been evident. But he has had to deal with a range of issues, after the World Cup in Russia.”
Aside from Mikel, Rohr is also set to make a decision whether to allow youngster Samuel Chukwueze represent Nigeria at the U-20 World Cup or include him in his team for AFCON 2019.
“I have had a chat with the coach of Villarreal and they don’t want him to exhaust himself at the U-20 WC and the AFCON, so they want him to choose one tournament. We shall see how best we can manage this situation. But no doubt, he’s a talent for my team.”
