Rivers United will be without defender-turned-goal scorer Chigozie Ihunda for today’s Nigeria league clash at home against Wikki Tourists as he has yet to recover from a knee injury.
Ihunda, who scored in a recent 3-1 home win over Enugu Rangers after he was played as a striker, hurt his knee in the 1-0 win at Warri Wolves over the weekend.
Ihunda’s absence is one that United coach Stanley Eguma has described as a big blow.
“It is a very big blow for us because Ihunda has been a very key member of the team,” he lamented.
“Losing him now is a big problem for us but then, we have other players in the team who can take over.
“We didn’t build the team around any one player. “We will miss Ihunda but it is not going to affect our performance.”
There is however good news across the horizon as strikers, Wilson Andoh and Guy Kuemian both return from injury.
A big win over the Tourists in Port Harcourt could see sixth-placed United go top of the NPFL standings (if other results go their way) for the first time this season.
It seems more of a possibility rather than wishful thinking as all five sides above United on the NPFL table navigate banana-skin road trips on match day 16.