AFCON miss hurts Tella

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Bayer Leverkusen head coach Kasper Hjulmand says that Nathan Tella was looking forward to making Nigeria’s squad for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations, PUNCH Sports Extra reports.

Hjulmand, however, said the club will benefit from his absence from the squad.

Tella was one of the notable omissions from the Super Eagles’ 28-man squad released by head coach Eric Chelle this week.

The former Burnley star was hopeful of making the list after recovering from the injury that sidelined him for several weeks.

The 26-year-old will, however, have to wait before adding to his two caps for the Super Eagles.

“This is beneficial for Leverkusen, of course. But Nathan had hopes, real hopes,” Hjulmand said ahead of Leverkusen’s Bundesliga clash with Cologne.

The squad features 10 new faces compared to the team that reached the 2023 AFCON final, including defenders Ryan Alebiosu and Igoh Ogbu, midfielders Ebenezer Akinsanmiro, Usman Muhammed and Tochukwu Nnadi, and forward Salim Fago Lawal.

Other notable absentees include Nottingham Forest defender Ola Aina, who was one of Nigeria’s best players at the last tournament, retired captain William Troost-Ekong, and injured defender Benjamin Fredrick.

Peter, who has been covering sports for PUNCH for close to two years, focuses on combat sports reporting, special features and human angle stories

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