Brighton Hove Albion of England defender, Leon Aderemi Balogun and Leganes of Spain stopper, Kenneth Omeruo have both opted to stay out of Tuesday’s international friendly between Nigeria and Uganda.
Footballlive.ng gathered that, while Balogun’s decision to skip the game is based on both health and technical matters, that of Omeruo is due to family matters.
Although he played all 90 minutes against Bafana Bafana, Balogun felt some cramps during Saturday’s 1-1 draw against South Africa, and needs to be fully fit in order to challenge for a starting shirt back at his club.
Balogun has not found the going smooth since joining Brighton from SV Mainz of Germany in the summer and, after missing nine straight matches, in which he stayed on The Seagulls’ bench, the mulatto stopper is now aiming for the best of physical conditions that would help him pull through.
With that in mind, Balogun has opted for a longer rest period between Saturday’s match in Johannesburg and the restart of action in the English Premier League, which he would have been denied had been available to play against Uganda on Tuesday.
Consequently, Balogun has been allowed to return to Europe, and will not be in the squad to battle The Cranes of Uganda, who have also qualified for next year’s AFCON in Cameroon after they beat Cape Verde 1-0 on Saturday.
On the other hand, Omeruo was excused from Tuesday’s match in order to be with his wife, who is pregnant and expecting their first child.
