A teammate of former Super Eagles’ striker, Odion Jude Ighalo at Manchester United of England, Angel Gomes has confirmed that he was once at Synagogue Church of All Nations (SCOAN) in Ikotun area of Lagos, as he went in search of healing from a troublesome injury, megasportsarena.com gathered.
Gomes made the clarification following a video recording that has gone viral on social media, in which he is seen giving a testimony about how he got healing through the visit to the church run by Prophet T. B. Joshua, and the teenager has now admitted that he went to SCOAN in an effort to receive healing for his woes with injury at the club that Ighalo first joined on loan in January.
The youngster, who joined United at the age of six and spent 11 years in their academy before graduating to the first team in 2017, has since made 10 senior appearances for The Red Devils, and is reportedly on the verge of signing a contract extension, which will see him remain at Old Trafford beyond the summer with the team that signed Ighalo to a loan extension this month.
Controversy, though hit Gomes, after a two-minute video surfaced on social media with graphic details of his quest in Joshua’s church years before his breakthrough at Old Trafford, with the England youth international seen opening up about his problems in front of the congregation.
In defence of his action back then, Gomes has now gone on to explain that he actually went to SCOAN due to advice from his mother, but argued that his personal desires, faith, approach and religion should not be an issue for discussion, where bigger issues of coronavirus pandemic and Black Lives Matter protests are currently widespread across the world.
Ighalo’s colleague stressed: “My name is Angel Gomes, I’m from Manchester. I’m sixteen. I play for Manchester United Football Club. I also represent the England national team Under-17 level as captain. I’ve known about the Synagogue Church of Nations for a long time.
“And I’ve been struggling really with injuries. I’ve been having injuries around my hip and groin which have been affecting me playing. I also suffered an ankle injury not long ago which kept me out for a long time.
“These injuries would come at hard times for me, times when I was having a breakthrough or times when I had to go to a tournament or playing games. These injuries would happen quite frequently. As my family follows the prophet, my parents are big fans. So we thought it would be a good time for me to come and be touched by the prophet.
“Regarding the video that has come out from 2016. I am from a Christian family and at the time my mum was a fan of the pastor, and she really wanted me to go. I was going through some issues. From the outside looking in it looks crazy, but I was just practicing my faith.
“I didn’t really need to explain myself but a lot of people were asking me what the video was about. I was young at the time and, if my parents thought something was best for me, I would do it. There are far more important issues out there in the world we can tackle.”
