Super Eagles and FCV Dender EH defender Benjamin Frederick will miss the AFCON 2025 tournament in Morocco next month due to a knee injury, according to Soccernet.ng.
The 20-year-old has been a revelation for the Green and Whites since earning his first senior call-up in May.
With the Unity Cup staged at Brentford’s Gtech Community Stadium, it was no surprise that coach Eric Chelle included the young Brentford loanee in his squad.
Frederick played the full 90 minutes as Nigeria triumphed over Jamaica in a penalty shoot-out following a 2-2 draw in normal time.
Since then, he has started all six of Nigeria’s competitive fixtures, with the Super Eagles unbeaten in regular time whenever he has featured.
The Brentford loanee clocked 120 minutes in Nigeria’s 4-1 win over Gabon, and repeated the feat against DR Congo during the November international break.
Despite showing signs of fatigue and suffering muscular cramps towards the end of the latter game, he completed the match as Nigeria’s World Cup hopes ended.
Concerns were raised when Frederick missed Dender’s 2-1 loss to Royal Antwerp last weekend.
It has since emerged that the defender was sidelined due to a knee injury. Journalist Oluwashina Okeleji reports that Frederick will now miss the entire AFCON 2025 tournament to focus on his recovery.
The injury is a significant blow for Eric Chelle, who had quickly grown to rely on the youngster, with William Troost-Ekong losing his regular starting spot since Frederick’s emergence.
The Brentford loanee now joins Ola Aina among the Super Eagles squad members who face uncertainty ahead of the Morocco tournament. While Frederick is confirmed out, Aina remains a doubt, although he has returned to individual training.
