CONFIRMED: Osimhen, Dennis, Balogun, Abdullahi Won't Be Part Of The Nigeria's Final Squad For The 2021 AFCON.

Four late changes have been made to the Nigeria's Super Eagles final squad list for the 2021 AFCON tournament set to begin January 9.

The three-time African Champions will be in Cameroon without the services of Victor Osimhen, Emmanuel Dennis, Leon Balogun, and Shehu Abdullahi after the 28-man list was updated on the Super Eagles social media account on Friday morning.

All four players have all been replaced with Henry Onyekuru (Olympiacos Greece), Peter Olayinka (Slavia Praha, Czech) , Tyronne Ebuehi (Venezia, Italy), and Semi Ajayi(West Brom England).

There has been an intense back and forth between the Nigeria Football Federation and Napoli since Serie A star, Osimhen was included in the list which was released by interim boss Austine Eguavoen on Christmas Day.

Osimhen reportedly tested positive for Covid_19 yesterday despite just getting back to fitness since the head of clash injury he suffered in a game against Inter Milan in November.

The 23-year-old has been in good form prior to his injury, with nine goals and two assists for Napoli this season, as well as scoring four goals for Nigeria in 2022 Africa World Cup qualifying games.

England-based striker Dennis has been barred by Watford from joining the Super Eagles in Cameroon due to club-related issues, after reports that his invitation arrived late according to his club manager, Claudio Raineri.

The in-form 24-year-old has been impressive for Watford this season. He has been directly involved in 13 league goals for the Hornets, only Liverpool's Mo Salah (24) has more goals involvement than Dennis this season.

Dennis has scored eight goals with give assists in just 15 appearances this season. He has been replaced by Slavia Praha forward Peter Olayinka.

Meanwhile, defenders, Balogun and Abdullahi, have been ruled out due to injuries with Venezia full-back, Ebuehi and Semi Ajayi of West Brom called up as replacements.

The biennial tournament kicks off on January 9. 2022, with the with the opening fixture between host nation Cameroon vs Burkina Faso.

The Super Eagles begins their campaign two days later with seven-time African champions Egypt.

The Changed Super Eagles’ Squad list; 

Henry Onyekuru replaces Victor Osimhen (Covid)

Semi Ajayi replaces Leon Balogun (Injury)

Peter Olayinka replaces Emmanuel Dennis (Club issues)

Tyrone Ebuehi replaces Shehu Abdullahi (Injury)

FIFA has not yet cleared Ademola Lookman and so, he won't be eligible to play for the Super Eagles in Cameroon.