Elderson Echiejile has revealed he did not enjoy the 2010 World Cup in South Africa owing to the injury he suffered.
The left-back was part of the Super Eagles squad that failed to progress past the group stage under the guidance of Swedish tactician Lars Lagerback, who was brought in to take over from Shuaibu Amodu a few months prior to the start of the tournament.
The former Monaco man featured twice in the competition, against Greece and Korea Republic, but did not do enough as the Super Eagles managed to pick up one point in the games.
The 32-year-old has explained his injury problems culminated in his failure to impress, adding that some of his colleagues also played with injury at the competition.
"In 2010 I was at the World Cup and we had a Swedish coach Lars Lagerback who took over from Shuaibu Amodu and at the end of the day we had preparatory games before the tournament," Echiejile told the Super Eagles media team in an Instagram chat.
"Most of the players might be tired, from one injury to another injury, but at the end of the day, we were able to have a fair tournament. It's not easy in the World Cup to play three games but we had a fair tournament.
"For we the young players it was a good eye-opener for us to get to see the world stage of football and it was something great, this is really the big stage.
"Injury didn't allow me as a person to really enjoy the tournament but that is football, you just have to accept it and move on which I did".
Besides featuring at the 2010 World Cup, the defender was also part of the Super Eagles squad at the 2018 edition in Russia, although he did not get a chance to play in the tournament.
Echiejile, who has 59 caps for Nigeria, played a key role as Stephen Keshi’s led side clinched the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations in South Africa.
The defender, who had previously played for Rennes, Monaco and Sporting Braga, is currently without a club after leaving Finnish side HJK.