Sadiq Umar Helps Real Sociedad Beat Osasuna Days After Leaving Super Eagles AFCON Camp

Super Eagles forward, Sadiq Umar was featured in the Copa del Rey match against Osasuna days after he was forced to leave Nigeria’s AFCON camp due to an injury.

Recall that Sadiq Umar was named in Super Eagles’ 25-man squad for the 2023 AFCON which started in Ivory Coast on January 13. However, the team announced his withdrawal from the team over an injury he sustained during a pre-tournament friendly against Guinea on January 9.

The team replaced the striker with Paul Onuachu due to the said injury but less than three days later, Sadiq was seen training at his club’s camp sparking speculations that the Super Eagles doctor made a wrong diagnosis of the player’s injury.

However, the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) said in a statement that the team followed due process in confirming Sadiq Umar’s injury, insisting that there was no error in the process.

Hours after the statement on Tuesday, January 16, Real Sociedad announced the squad list for their Copa del Rey match against Osasuna which took place on Wednesday night.

Sadiq Umar started the match from the bench as he was introduced into the game in the 73rd minute. Before then, Real Sociedad were already a goal-up courtesy of a penalty kick from Mikel Oyarzabal.

Also, before he got into the game, Osasuna were a man down as Alejandro Catena was given a marching order in the 56th minute.

Sadiq Umar’s presence almost inspired two goals but Brais Méndez missed a penalty in the 97th minute before Mikel Merino sealed the 2-0 victory via a rebound from the penalty kick.

Umar is expected to be in action once again on January 20, when Sociedad take on Celta Vigo in the Spanish La Liga. His countrymen will be in action later tonight (6 p.m.) against the hosts of the 2023 AFCON, Ivory Coast, in their second group-stage game.