John Mikel Ob confirms absence from Serbia friendly

Super Eagles captain John Mikel Obi has confirmed his absence from the friendly game between Nigeria and Serbia.

Mikel was absent as the Eagles grinded out a gritty 1-0 win against Poland , on Friday, March 23.

The Super Eagles captain was among the 28 players invited by head coach Gernot Rohr for the friendlies, but was reportedly unable to make it due to work permit constraints.

Mikel has however confirmed that he will miss the second friendly match against Serbia.

The 30-year-old confirmed his absence via a message on his official Instagram account which said, “Unfortunately due to circumstances beyond my control I will not be on the field for our game v Serbia tomorrow. I am sad, and frustrated, but giving my full support to the team for another WIN!.”

Mikel was a key figure during the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifiers where he put in an impressive performance and contributed two goals.

Bursaspor‘s William Troost-Ekong led the Super Eagles in the absence of Mikel against Poland and the team has been boosted with the recent arrivals of Oghenekaro Etebo, Gabriel Okechukwu, and Junior Ajayi.

The Super Eagles take on Serbia on Tuesday, March 27 at the Hive Stadium England