Turkish Super Lig side Trabzonspor have confirmed fears that Super Eagles midfielder Ogenyi Onazi is set for a significant time out on the sidelines after rupturing his Achilles during his side’s 4-1 win over Çaykur Rizespor on Sunday.
Onazi has played a prominent part in Trabzonspor’s surreal title challenge this season, featuring in sixteen out of their seventeen league games and scoring twice for the second placed side.
It is however unlikely that he features anymore till the end of the season after he was stretchered off after the half-hour mark at the Medical Park Stadium in Trabzon. The club has also confirmed via its official website that the former Lazio midfielder will require a surgery on Monday.
“An MRI on the injury sustained by our player Ogenyi Onazi in the game against Çaykur Rizespor has diagnosed him of an Achilles Rupture. Onazi is now scheduled to be operated on tomorrow in Istanbul,” read the brief, but sorrowful press statement on Sunday night.
Onazi’s good form in the 2018/19 season has coincided with Trabzonspor’s amazing run in the league which currently sees them placed second behind surprise league leaders Istanbul Basaksehir who are six points clear at the top of the table.
The Turkish Super Lig will proceed on a mid-season break starting from Monday and will resume on January 20, 2019.
Onazi’s injury will however cast a shadow of doubt over his participation in next June’s Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) tournament as the midfielder – who recently fell out of favour in the Super Eagles squad – may be unfit for the tournament.
The midfielder, who won the AFCON in 2013 with the Super Eagles has over 50 caps for the Super Eagles with his last appearance for the team coming in their Africa Cup of Nations qualifying victory over Seychelles in September.
