Afcon 2019: Injured Mikel may miss rest of Nigeria's campaign

Nigeria captain John Obi Mikel could miss the remainder of the country's campaign at the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations.

Mikel strained his knee in the Super Eagles’ 2-0 loss to Madagascar and was replaced by Alex Iwobi in the 59th minute.

After several checks by the medical staff, Nigeria sources confirmed to Goal he will be out of their Round of 16 clash, and fear the 32-year-old could miss the rest of the championship.

Should the fears be confirmed, the three-time African champions could be left with just Iwobi to fill the creative role in Nigeria’s midfield.

While Gernot Rohr remained vague as to the extent of the injury, Goal understands the problem is not a severe one, but the German will not risk exacerbating the injury.  

Therefore, the new Trabzonspor signing may not feature again in Egypt.

This setback will come as a blow to the former Chelsea man, who earlier revealed Egypt 2019 could be his last Afcon.