Rohr Rues Iheanacho’s Absence On Tuesday, Worries Over Synthetic Pitch

  Super Eagles’ coach, Gernot Rohr is raising shades of worry ahead of his side’s second match in the Qatar 2022 World Cup qualifiers, as he is will be without Leicester City of England attacker, Kelechi Iheanacho, who scored twice in the opening day 2-0 win over Liberia. Iheanacho is one of seven players that have to head back to Great Britain due to UK government anti-COVID-19 regulations that restrict them from travelling to Cape Verde, where Rohr is also apprehensive that his wards will have to play on a synthetic pitch. It was reported that the Franco-German tactician will line his wards out for their second match in the race to Qatar 2022 when they battle away to Cape Verde on Tuesday, but he will be without six of the players he started in Friday’s victory over The Lone Star. While AS Torino of Italy defender, Ola Aina has been excused on personal grounds, Rohr will also be without Glasgow Rangers of Scotland duo of Leon Aderemi Balogun and Joe Aribo, Leicester City’s Wilfred Onyinyen Ndidi and Kelechi Iheanacho, Everton’s Alex Iwobi as well as Watford’s William Troost-Ekong and Oghenekaro Etebo. Also missing from the roster are Brentford of England midfielder, Frank Onyeka and TSG Hoffenheim of Germany defender, Kevin Akpoguma, who both could not even honour invitations for the Liberia game in the first place. The catalogue of absentees is now weighing heavily on Rohr’s mind and the gaffer, who is equally worried about how his team will hold their own on artificial grass, lamented that he will have to line out a virtually new squad to battle The Blue Sharks. While pointing out that every department of his starting line-up and entire roster of players available for selection has been already affected, Rohr lamented that he will be without nine key personnel for Tuesday’s match, especially in-form Iheanacho, who netted twice on Friday. The former handler of Girondins-Bordeuax of France as well as the national teams of Gabon, Niger Republic and Burkina Faso, however, concluded with an air of enthusiasm that his team will be able to overcome the tough task ahead of them and hold their own adequately in order to avoid defeat on Tuesday. Rohr moaned: “There are nine players leaving, it’s all the team so there will be another team, it’s not easy to build another team in only two days, and to play on a synthetic pitch. “It’s the other side of the extreme situation; we are coming from a heavy grass after the rain to a dry synthetic pitch. “We have to build another defence, another midfield. The goalscorer Kelechi will leave, so it will not be easy. It’s a challenge for the staff and for the players but we have to show our solidarity. “The players who are coming in now, it will be 20 players going to Cape Verde, so we will be able to make a good team. “We have to manage this situation and I am believing that our team is able to bring another good performance even if it’s more difficult.”