Cadet national team, Golden Eaglets coach, Manu Garba is facing up boldly to the challenges facing him, following the failure of five key players in his squad during last week’s Magnetic Resonance Imagery (MRI) scans.
Though Manu admits the players who were disqualified by MRI scans were some of those he had been relying on to make an impact at the upcoming Africa U17 Nations Cup qualifiers in Niger Republic, he will quickly start making adjustments without them.
Manu also acknowledged that the MRI results were not as bade as had been initially feared, considering what he faced when over 20 were dropped last time out, hence his determination to weather the storm.
This time, though, a total of 15 of the 40 best players failed the mandatory MRI age test just two weeks to the big kick-off of the qualifiers, in which the Eaglets will begin their campaign on September 3 against Burkina Faso.
The players affected have since been sent packing from the team’s camp in Abuja, with another set of 15 players are now to undergo the MRI scan to replace those who failed.
Manu’s team are drawn in Group B along with Cote d’Ivoire, Burkina Faso and Benin Republic, but only the overall winners of the seven-team competition will advance to the tournament proper in Tanzania next year.
Consequently, the former Wikki Tourist of Bauchi coach, who announced the name of five key lads among the players who failed the tests, said he and his assistants will work hard to make up for the absences.
Manu added: “It’s unfortunate because they have been with us for a while but we will work hard to make up for their absence. They will be missed, but we are confident of finding capable replacement.”
