John Obi Mikel and Ahmed Musa out of Super Eagles Mali, Luxembourg Friendlies

Nigeria captain John Obi Mikel and Ahmed Musa his deputy will play no part in the upcoming international friendly matches for the Super Eagles against Mali and Luxembourg on May 27 and June 1 as they have been allowed to feature in the Joseph Yobo Testimonial.

Former Eagles captain and first 100-cap player, Yobo, has his testimonial match scheduled for May 27 in Port Harcourt same day the Eagles take their Malian counterparts in Rouen, France.

Crisis-ridden Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) had come under blast for selecting the same date for the friendly when it was already aware of the testimonial for Yobo, Goal.com reports.

As a result, the football house has announced that the team would be without the captain and his deputy for the crucial warm up games ahead of the upcoming Russia 2018 World Cup qualifiers.

“The NFF leadership has decided that Mikel and Musa should be excused from the two friendly matches in Europe so that they can honour Joseph Yobo, who is having his testimonial game on the same Friday, 27th May that we are playing Mali in Rouen, France. The two players have been communicated accordingly,” said NFF General Secretary, Dr. Mohammed Sanusi.

Striker Aaron Samuel had already been ruled out following injury, bringing the number of absentees to three as the team looks to rebuild from the disaster of the 2017 Afcon fail.

John Mikel Obi & Ahmed Musa released from Mali, Luxembourg friendlies for May 27 Joseph Yobo testimonial game in Uyo pic.twitter.com/kheRVnqztb

— Nigeria Super Eagles (@NGSuperEagles) May 12, 2016