Former Nigeria captain, Mikel Obi was an 89th minute substitute for his Skybet Championship team, Stoke City Tuesday evening as the Potters returned to winning ways again after a nine-game winless run spanning two months.
The Nigerian, an ever regular player for Stoke was however left on the bench until the final minute of regulation time for the first time in 24 games this term and second time in 40 matches.
Mikel made his debut in the Championhip for Middlesbrough in February 2019 in the 3-2 away win at West Brom and started all 18 games he featured in for the Riverside club before joining Turkish side, Trabzonspor.
The Nigerian left Turkey after a mutual agreement to terminate his contract and joined Stoke City as a free agent in August 2020.He has featured 23 times for the Potters, starting 21 of the games. He has scored just once in 41 games and the goal came in Middlesbrough’s 2-1 defeat of Rotherham at the New York Stadium in May 2019.
Meanwhile, Nigeria’s vice-captain, William Troost-Ekong was an unused substitute for the seventh time this season as his club, Watford continued their push for an immediate return to the Premier League with a 1-0 away win at Preston North End.
Troost-Ekong joined Watford from Italian Serie A side, Udinese last September signing a five year deal that will run until 2025.He has played 19 times for the Hornets so far, starting 19 of them.