Official: Osayi-Samuel and Dessers out as Chelle calls-up Palace, Porto stars for Super Eagles games against Lesotho and Benin

Cyriel Dessers and Osayi-Samuel will be unavailable for the Super Eagles’ next two games against Lesotho and Benin….

Coach Eric Chelle has called-up Crystal Palace midfielder Christantus Uche and Porto defender Zaidu Sanusi for the upcoming 2026 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers against Lesotho and Benin, Soccernet.ng reports.

In recent weeks, many Nigerian players have been hit with multiple injuries. Stars like Ola Aina, Fisayo Dele-Bashiru, and Raphael Onyedika have been sidelined at their clubs due to varying injury problems.

Because of their injuries, they were not named in Nigeria’s squad for the next set of games against Lesotho and Benin.

Werder Bremen man Felix Agu made the cut for Chelle’s squad which was released last week. But he suffered an injury in his club’s Bundesliga game against St. Pauli, putting his participation in the international break in the balance.

In a new update, per the official Super Eagles page, Cyriel Dessers and Bright Osayi-Samuel have now been sidelined.

Recall that last week, Soccernet.ng revealed that Dessers was struggling with an ankle issue at his club Panathinaikos.

Osayi-Samuel has also been dealing with an injury at Birmingham City, and that knocked him out of action for their last game at Wrexham.

Christantus Uche and Zaidu Handed Super Eagles call-ups

Coach Chelle has now called up Crystal Palace star Christantus Uche and Porto man Zaidu Sanusi to camp ahead of the Lesotho and Benin games.

Eric Chelle makes two changes to his 23-man squad as Zaidu Sanusi and Christantus Uche replace the injured Cyriel Dessers and Bright Osayi-Samuel. #SoarSuperEagles #FIFAWCQ pic.twitter.com/PeC6VloKOh

— Super Eagles (@NGSuperEagles) October 4, 2025

Sanusi is a battle-tested Super Eagles defender, as he played a key role in the team’s second-place finish at the last Africa Cup of Nations.

However, he has been out of the team for over a year due to injuries. But now, he will be looking to reclaim his position.

Meanwhile, Uche is one of the new kids on the block, and he is also a solid addition. He made his Super Eagles debut in June, and he will be hoping that he will get into coach Eric Chelle’s good books soon.