Super Eagles skipper, Mikel Obi, is just few weeks away from staging a comeback from a lengthy injury lay off.
The 30-year-old midfielder took to Instagram on Monday to reveal his progress from the knock.
Without doubt, Mikel has been solely missed by his nation, evidently in the 2-0 home loss to South Africa two weeks ago.
In his absence, Gernot Rohr’s lads looked like a deer caught in headlights lacking direction and purpose.
But what way will the ex-Chelsea man improve the team, considering the double header against Cameroon is barely one month away?
Here are three.
- Leadership
One major conundrum brought to the fore in Mikel’s absence was that of the leadership crisis in the team. Against all expectations, Rohr handed the team’s captaincy to Ogenyi Onazi at the expense of Ahmed Musa. And the Trabzonspor man did do his best but tracks of Mikel’s absence were visible for everyone. The team lacked that natural leader, an elder statesman capable of cautioning the young lads. Mikel’s return will certainly address this debacle.
- Experience
Another reason partly responsible for Nigeria’s poor showing against the Bafana Bafana was the inexperience of the team. None of the Eagles’ outfield starter was above 24 with the average age of the entire squad not more than 25. Mikel’s coming will certainly provide that experience to the team, having featured more than 100 times for his country.
- Goals
This may sound somewhat awkward but the reality is Mikel Obi managed to score the last time he played for Nigeria. Against Algeria last year, the Tianjin TEDA man beat the offside trap to double Nigeria’s lead, a game they went on to win 3-1. Should he carry on with such form, then we may see the charismatic midfielder hitting more targets for Rohr’s team.
