The injury which Eberechi Eze sustained only last week may have actually been a blessing in disguise for Nigeria.
And that is because Eze was going to be included in the 33-man provisional England squad for the Euro 2020.
His heartbreaking achilles injury was made worse by the Crystal Palace star finding out immediately after that he was set for his first ever call-up to the England senior team.
That would have meant Nigeria losing the skillful player to England as he would have played at the Euro 2020 which starts next month.
The attacking midfielder could not play any role when Palace lost 2-0 to Liverpool in their final outing of the 2020/21 Premier League season on Sunday.
That was as a result of the Achilles injury which Eze picked up in a training session last week Tuesday.
This long-term injury also put an abrupt stop to the winger’s very first campaign with Palace.
Palace have suffered a major blow with Eze who is facing a long lay-off likely to miss the start of next season.
And the former England youth international may not return to full fitness until later in the year 2022.
The 22-year-old has undergone scans and is now expected to go under the knife in corrective surgery which would likely put him out of action for around six to eight months.
Eberechi Eze became pivotal for Palace over the course of the season, scoring and assisting since making the step up from the Championship to Premier League football.
He hugely impressed following his £16m arrival from Queens Park Rangers after contributing six assists and scoring four goals in 29 appearances for the Londoners.
By Oluyemi Ogunseyin