Ndidi ruled out of Nations Cup as NFF call up Antwerp's Alhassan Yusuf to replace him

WILFRED Ndidi has been ruled out of Nigeria's African Cup of Nations squad with injury and been replaced with Royal Antwerp midfielder Alhassan Yusuf as the Super Eagles camp opens in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Ndidi, 27, the lynchpin of the Eagles' midfield, was named in the Super Eagles' 25-man squad on 29 December but missed Leicester City's win over Huddersfield Town on Monday. This sparked fears that he might be injured and yesterday, his club confirmed that the player is nursing an injury, so will not be going to the Nations Cup.

Africa's most prestigious sporting tournament, the Cup of Nations will be taking place between January 13 and February 11 in Ivory Coast.  Nigeria is one of the main contenders for the trophy but with the Super Eagles not firing on all cylinders at the moment, the Nigerian Football Federation (NFF) has decided to organise a training camp in the UAE.

There are also doubts surrounding the fitness of Kelechi Iheanacho, Ndidi's team mate at Leicester but the NFF are hopeful he will be able to join the squad. Striker Iheanacho, 27, has missed the Foxes' last two games in the Championship with a muscle problem and a decision on his fitness is expected to be taken this week.

Nigeria's opening game will be against Equatorial Guinea  at the Alassane Ouattara Stadium, Abidjan on January 14. This will be followed by a match against hosts Ivory Coast on January 18 and then the final group match against  Guinea Bissau at the Felix Houphouet Boigny Stadium, Abidjan on January 22.