By Korede James
Fisayo Dele-Bashiru, Ralph Onyedika and Semi Ajayi have emerged as injury doubts for the Super Eagles ahead of their 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers against Rwanda and Zimbabwe in March.
Dele-Bashiru suffered an ankle injury in Lazio’s 0-0 draw with Venezia in Serie A on Saturday, the 24-year-old midfielder spraining his ankle in a coming together with Alessio Zerbin.
The Nigeria international tried to run it off and even took a shot which made it worse, before he was carried off by two members of medical staff with five minutes left in the first half.
Speaking after the match, Lazio head coach Marco Baroni said he was not sure Dele-Bashiru would recover in time for Lazio’s trip to Inter Milan on Tuesday.
“We have to verify his condition,” Baroni said (via Football Italia). “He felt pain when he took that shot.
“Playing every two or three days, it’s going to be difficult to get him recovered for the next match.”
Dele-Bashiru has scored three goals in 16 appearances in the Italian top flight this season.
On his part, Onyedika was replaced in the first half of Club Brugge’s Belgian Jupiler League home clash against Standard Liege on Sunday.
Club Brugge confirmed Onyedika’s injury on social in the course of the encounter, confirming that he was substituted off in the 23rd minute of the 2-1 defeat due to a knock.
The club, however, did not indicate the nature of the injury.
In Ajayi’s case, the towering centre-back pulled up with what appeared to be a hamstring injury for the second time this season, in West Brom’s 2-0 win against Oxford United in the Championship on Saturday.
The 31-year-old Super Eagles star was forced off with four minutes remaining in the first half in just his second appearance since returning from more than three months on the sidelines following surgery earlier in the season.
The Baggies will now have to await the outcome of scans on the severity of the defender’s injury.
Saturday’s encounter with Oxford United was Ajayi’s 14th appearance in the English second-tier division this campaign.
He has featured in all of the Super Eagles’ four matches in Group C of the World Cup qualifiers, scoring in the 1-1 draw with Lesotho on matchday one in November 2023.
The injuries to Dele-Bashiru, Onyedika and Ajayi would be a concern for the Super Eagles coaching crew headed by Eric Chelle ahead of next month’s World Cup qualifiers.
The Super Eagles are currently in fifth place in their six-team group with just three points from four matches, and must win their remaining games to stand a chance of earning the pool’s only automatic ticket.
The three-time AFCON champions will face Rwanda on March 17 in Kigali and host Zimbabwe at the Godswill Akpabio Stadium in Uyo seven days later.
All three injured players have featured in the Super Eagles’ four 2026 World Cup qualifiers so far.
Dele-Bashiru scored in the 1-1 draw against South Africa in Uyo while Onyedika was on target in the 2-1 defeat to Benin Republic in Abidjan in June 2024.
