Nigeria Pick Injured John Obi Mikel & Sani Kaita For World Cup Clash Against Kenya

Injured midfielders John Obi Mikel and Sani Kaita are among the 23 players picked by Nigeria coach Shuaibu Amodu for the make-or-break World Cup qualifier against Kenya in Nairobi on November 14.

Chelsea ace Mikel has yet to recover from an ankle injury, while Kaita has been sidelined by a hamstring problem, which he suffered in October. Indeed, the consensus is that he will not be fully fit for the Kenya match.

Otherwise, Amodu has kept faith with most of the players he has used for the World Cup qualifying campaign since last year.

Moscow-based defender Chidi Odiah has been recalled to the squad after he was overlooked recently, but there is no place for Hoffenheim striker Chinedu Obasi, who failed to shine against Tunisia in September.

The squad:

Goalkeepers: Vincent Enyeama (Hapoel Tel Aviv), Greg Etafia (Moroka Swallows), Dele Aiyenugba (Bnei-Yehuda)

Defenders: Onyekachi Apam (Nice), Uwa Echiejile (Stade Rennais), Chidi Odiah (CSKA Moscow), Taye Taiwo (Olympique de Marseille), Joseph Yobo (Everton), Obinna Nwaneri (FC Sion), Danny Shittu (Bolton), Dele Adeleye (Sparta Rotterdam)

Midfielders: John Obi Mikel (Chelsea), Seyi Olofinjana (Hull City), Yusuf Ayila (Dynamo Kiev), Sani Kaita (Lokomotiv Moscow), Oluwafemi Ajilore (Groningen)

Strikers: Obafemi Martins (Wolfsburg), Peter Odemwingie (Lokomotiv Moscow), Nwankwo Kanu (Portsmouth), Yakubu Aiyegbeni (Everton), Michael Eneramo (Esperance), Victor Obinna (Malaga), Joseph Akpala (Club Brugge)

Samm Audu, Goal.com