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Watford of England midfielder, Peter Oghenekaro Etebo has gained a positive update from Super Eagles’ interim coach, Augustine Eguavoen, as the gaffer is hailing the lad’s return to fitness ahead of this month’s clashes with Ghana in the 2022 World Cup qualification deciders.
Megasportsarena.com reports that, although the former Warri Wolves of Delta State, Feirense of Portugal and Las Palmas of Spain dazzler is yet to play a senior competitive game with his club since overcome a long injury blight, ‘Egu’ is enthusiastic about the lad’s availability.
However, while the Eagles’ former defender, captain and head coach went on to affirm his decision in adding Etebo’s name to Nigeria’s squad roster for the March 25 and 29 battles with Ghana, he stressed that the battling star may not start any of the games.
This comes after Etebo stepped up his recovery from injury by featuring for Watford’s under-23 squad against Ipswich Town on February 21 and then returned to senior team action versus Wolverhampton Wanderers, for the first time since September.
Before then, Etebo, who is on loan at Vicarage Road from Stoke City, had not played competitively for Watford’s first team for more than five months, as he was lacking match fitness after recovering from a quad injury that required surgery.
However, Eguavoen has now confessed that he opted to keep faith with Etebo because he knows what the battling midfielder’s quality, and noted further that the player had been set to feature in Watford’s recent draw with Manchester United at Old Trafford.
He added that he has watched Etebo close since the lad starred for the under-23 national team, Olympic Eagles, following which they worked together at various points of national team duty.
Eguavoen told Elegbete TV Sports: “Etebo coming in now does not say he would be in the starting lineup.
“I’ve watched him closely when he played for Siasia in the U23s and when he played for former coach Gernot Rohr in Super Eagles.
“I have interacted with him. He was listed among the team when they went to Old Trafford to play against Manchester United about two weeks ago.
“(However), that changed, he was supposed to be dressed and he wasn’t dressed, but he’s fit.”
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