Nigeria superstar Victor Osimhen is available to play in Wednesday's Africa Cup of Nations semifinal against South Africa following a fitness scare, the team confirmed.
Osimhen suffered an injury scare in their quarterfinal match against Angola forcing the gaffer, Jose Peseiro, to sub him off in the late stages of the match.
The Super Eagles went on to win the match 1-0 courtesy of Ademola Lookman’s strike in minute 41 securing them a record 16th appearance in the semifinals. They have so far qualified for Afcon 20 times.
"Victor Osimhen has been declared fit and available for selection in the semifinal clash against South Africa on Wednesday. He has joined the team in Bouake and has trained with the squad today," a team spokesperson told AFP on Tuesday.
The Napoli striker's presence had initially appeared to be in doubt after he did not fly to Bouake from Abidjan on Monday with the rest of the squad due to abdominal discomfort.
The reigning African Player of the Year also missed training on Monday
Coach Peseiro had been evasive as to Osimhen's chances of facing South Africa when asked at a press conference earlier on Tuesday.
"I cannot answer right now because it's a health problem. This afternoon I will know better if he can play or not," he said.
The 25-year-old has been outstanding for the Super Eagles at the tournament despite only scoring one goal, in their opening 1-1 draw with Equatorial Guinea.
The Wednesday game against Bafana Bafana will be a repeat of the 2000 semifinal in Lagos where the Super Eagles won 2-0.
Nigeria won the last of its three Afcon titles in 2013 while South Africa's only win came in 1996.
Elsewhere host nation Ivory Coast will take on DR Congo in the semifinal for a slot in the finals.
