Chelsea star John Obi Mikel has been forced out of the Nigeria squad ahead of the 2010 FIFA World Cup after, it is believed, the player felt he had failed to recover sufficiently from a knee operation in May.
Some outlets are reporting that Mikel suffered a bruised ankle in his first training session which prompted the decision, though there has been no official statement regarding the precise set of circumstances.
A representative for Nigeria said “We have dropped Mikel from the squad after he said he did not want to risk his career.” The player is to be replaced with Brown Ideye of Sochaux who play in France.
Nigeria will need to perform at their best to qualify from Group B, which also contains Argentina, Greece and South Korea – they will be tested in their first match which is against the Strong Argentina side on 12 June.
I miss obi of chelsea for world cup i pary dat God wil help nigeria.go s/e