Ikeme eyes Eagles return

Worrisome Nigerians over the leaking Super Eagles goal post can now heave a sigh of relieve as fi rst choice goalkeeper, Carl Ikeme, is gradually inching nearer to manning the sticks in the coming weeks if his recovery is anything to go by. Th e goalkeeper was one of several notable absentees as Nigeria suff ered a shock 0-2 defeat to South Africa in 2019 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifying. Ikeme is now approaching full fi tness and says the horizon looks bright. “It’s been slow and tough,” Ikeme said . “It was something I was carrying for a long time. “I couldn’t play or train. It took more than a normal hamstring injury. “I have been working hard every day with the physios and hopefully, I’m closer to getting back to training. “We start our pre-season on Monday so hopefully, I can start building up in training and hopefully, I can be available for our games and the Nigeria games coming up as well,” he said. Ikeme also took the time to discuss Nigeria’s last 2019 AFCON qualifi er against South Africa expressing confi dence that the Super Eagles will overcome the setback of the loss to Bafana Bafana and bounce back in style