Chukwueze and Aribo ruled out of Nigeria friendly versus Cameroon

Samuel Chukwueze and Joe Aribo will miss Nigeria’s upcoming international friendly against Cameroon.

According to the 24-man squad announced by the Nigeria Football Federation on Monday night, both players did not make the cut.

Villarreal winger Chukwueze has been on the sidelines following an injury suffered in the Europa League semi-final second leg fixture against Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium.

For Rangers midfielder Aribo, he seemed to have been excused from the Super Eagles squad following a hectic season with Steven Gerrard’s men.

Also trimmed from the squad are FC Porto left-back Sanusi Zaidu, Leganes' Kenneth Omeruo, West Bromwich Albion's Semi Ajayi, Almeria's Sadiq Umar and Heartland goalkeeper Ikechukwu Ezenwa.

The encounter is billed for June 4 in Wiener Neustadt, south of the Austrian capital.

The last time Nigeria and Cameroon battled each other was in the Round of 16 of the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations in Egypt and Rohr’s side claimed a 3-2 win, thanks to Odion Ighalo's brace and Alex Iwobi’s match-winning effort. 

The fixture is billed to get the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations kings prepared for their 2022 Fifa World Cup qualifying campaign which will begin in September.

Nigeria are zoned in Group C of the qualifiers alongside Cape Verde, Liberia and Central African Republic. For the Cameroonians, they are placed in Group D with Cote d’Ivoire, Mozambique and Malawi.

FULL LIST

Goalkeepers: Francis Uzoho (APOEL Nicosia, Cyprus); John Noble (Enyimba FC); Maduka Okoye (Sparta Rotterdam, The Netherlands)

Defenders: Chidozie Awaziem (FC Boavista, Portugal); William Ekong (Watford FC, England); Olaoluwa Aina (Fulham FC, England); Jamilu Collins (SC Paderborn 07, Germany); Tyronne Ebuehi (FC Twente, The Netherlands); Valentine Ozornwafor (Galatasaray FC, Turkey)

Midfielders: Oghenekaro Etebo (Galatasaray FC, Turkey); Wilfred Ndidi (Leicester City, England); Abdullahi Shehu (Omonia Nicosia, Cyprus); Frank Onyeka (FC Midtjylland, Denmark); Abraham Marcus (CD Feirense, Portugal)

Forwards: Ahmed Musa (Kano Pillars FC); Alex Iwobi (Everton FC, England); Peter Olayinka (Slavia Praha, Czech Republic); Victor Osimhen (Napoli FC, Italy); Kelechi Iheanacho (Leicester City, England); Moses Simon (FC Nantes, France); Anayo Iwuala (Enyimba FC); Terem Moffi (FC Lorient, France); Paul Onuachu (KRC Genk, Belgium); Simy Nwankwo (Crotone FC, Italy)