FC Nantes striker Moses Simon will expectedly miss the rest of the season after being injured in Nigeria’s international friendly match against Mali on Tuesday night in Marrakech, Morocco.
The injury is not only a blow to the 28-year-old forward, but also for coach Antoine Kombouaré who will now be without one of his key attacking threats for the rest of the season.
A bad collision with Mali goalkeeper Mamadou Samassa left the attacker unable to continue past the 34th minute in Nigeria’s 2-0 loss.
Providing an update on its website, Simon’s French’s Ligue 1 side, FC Nantes, noted that Simon was released shortly after the half-hour mark last night during the friendly match between Mali and Nigeria (2-0),
Moses Simon was seriously injured following a collision with the Malian goalkeeper. Simon was quickly evacuated on a stretcher. The Nantes striker was immediately transported to hospital for treatment.
“Subsequent examinations confirmed a fracture of the fibula. His unavailability is unfortunately estimated at several months,” the club added in a statement, saying he would be provided with full support while wishing him a speedy recovery!
With over 150 matches under his belt in Nantes’ colour, Simon is one of the most experienced players at the French club. This season, he has scored three goals in 22 Ligue 1 appearances.
A full international since March 2015, the Mali match was his 69th cap for Nigeria.
This injury setback means Simon will not be available for the Super Eagles’ crucial 2026 World Cup qualifiers against South Africa and Benin in June.
Yet according to Transfer Market, this would not be the first time that Simon would be blighted by long injury lay-off in his career after he was forced out for 52 days with a ligament injury in the 2017/2018 while at Gent in the Belgian League.
It would also be recalled that injury forced him out of the Super Eagles’ squad to the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia.
