Moses Simon ruled out of 2018 FIFA World Cup

    Moses Simon ruled out of 2018 FIFA World Cup

    As we get closer and closer to the start of the 2018 FIFA World Cup, more and more players are going to experience heartbreak – whether that be through injury, or because they haven’t been selected for the final 23-man squad for their country. Unfortunately for Nigerians everywhere, Moses Simon falls into the first category after it was confirmed that he will be missing the tournament with a thigh problem.

    Moses

    The 22-year-old was considered to be one of the main stars behind Nigeria’s push for qualification over the last few years, having produced some stunning performances en-route to the Super Eagles confirming their place in Russia. Now, however, he’ll be forced to watch his teammates and friends from home in what will be an extremely hard moment for the youngster to accept. Of course, sometimes you just can’t prevent these kinds of things, and in some instances, it can be considered a good thing for someone of his age. After all, overcoming adversity is what makes us all stronger in every walk of life, and Moses will be able to learn from this and use it as motivation when he eventually returns for both Nigeria and his domestic club Gent.

    The problem was first considered to be more serious than anyone had originally thought when he sat out of the team’s training session in Port Harcourt, just over twenty-four hours prior to their friendly against the Democratic Republic of Congo which will take place tonight. Simon has turned out for Nigeria on 20 separate occasions, scoring four goals in that time. Oddly enough three of those strikes came during his first year with the national team in 2015, with his latest goal in September 2017 helping to earn Nigeria a valuable point against Cameroon during qualification. He’s often known as a player who won’t give up on the ball no matter how bleak a situation or scenario may seem, and that kind of determination is something that Nigeria will sorely miss in a World Cup group full of talented attacking stars. Of course, that kind of heart and passion is something that runs through the entire squad, although this could upset the status quo regarding who ends up making the final cut.

    With just under three weeks remaining until their first game, the manager will at least be thankful that this issue didn’t arise closer towards the date of their opener against Croatia. With that being said, they’ll want to do everything in their power to ensure that they come out of the upcoming games against Congo & England with no more major problems.