Tianjin Teda of China midfielder, John Mikel Obi is scheduled to speak with his colleagues in the Super Eagles on telephone when they open camp in Uyo next week.
This much has been disclosed by Eagles’ media officer, Toyin Ibitoye, who said the Nigerian team’s captain will motivate his teammates on phone before they line out to battle Libya next weekend.
Footballlive.ng gathered further that Mikel would have loved to be part of the team to tango The Mediterranean Knights in both upcoming Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers, but reached an agreement with Eagles’ coach, Gernot Rohr to regain full fitness before returning to the national team.
Although many observers fear something fishy is going on, considering that Mikel played 90 minutes with his club last weekend in the Chinese Super League, Ibitoye insists the Eagles captain discussed the issue with Rohr before his name was excluded from the list of invitees.
While another school of thought strongly suggests that Mikel is nearing retirement from the Eagles, Ibitoye insists the former Chelsea midfielder was granted absence to recover from injury.
“Mikel has been excused because he is just recovering from injury in China and needs time to fully regain fitness.
“We expect him to be available for the November game against South Africa. Before then, he will call the team in Uyo before they play against Libya,” Ibitoye submitted.
