It has now been confirmed that Chelsea attacker Victor Moses has been ruled out of Nigeria’s World Cup qualifying match against Zambia after picking up a hamstring injury in a premier league match against Hull City last week. Moses, 25, turned in a man of the match performance in the Blues’ 2-0 triumph over Hull City on Saturday (2 October) playing as a right wing-back(surprisingly), as Antonio Conte implemented his most preferred 3-5-2 formation.
The former Crystal Palace starlet was replaced by Pedro Rodriguez after 85 minutes at the KCOM Stadium and the Nigerian Football Federation have now issued a statement as well that Chelsea have been notified them that the player is not fit to play.
Watford’s Isaac Success will also be an absentee for Sunday’s qualifier and it has now been further stated that head coach Gernot Rohr has called up a couple of more players from Nigeria’s domestic league Godwin Obaje and Chisom Egbuchulam to replace the Premier League duo.
Moses gave the confirmation that he will rest in England to be further assessed by the west London outfit’s back-room staff. “Unfortunately I’m feeling my hamstring and so the club medical team will be reviewing me. Will be working hard to get fit asap,” he wrote on his official Twitter account.
Moses, who has had loan spells away from the Stamford Bridge at Liverpool, Stoke City and West Ham United since signing for the Blues in 2012, Had started his first league game for the club since May 2013 on Saturday.
Conte also lavished the Nigeria international with praise in his post-match interview, suggesting that he could have a first-team role to play in a 3-5-2 formation. “For me, Moses played an incredible game in a defensive situation and offensive situation. It’s fantastic because he’s working very hard and that’s why he deserved to play. He showed me that my choice was right.”
The Blues face two huge Premier League games after the international break, hosting champions Leicester City on 15 October before welcoming former manager Jose Mourinho’s Manchester United side to the Bridge on the 23rd of October.
