Onyedika Is Back — And Both Club Brugge and Nigeria Are Breathing Again

The scare lasted less than a week. Raphael Onyedika is fine.

The Super Eagles midfielder limped off in the 68th minute of Club Brugge’s 2-1 loss to Union Saint-Gilloise with a suspected knee injury, and the worst was feared. But he returned to the pitch six days later as a substitute in the final 18 minutes of Brugge’s 6-1 demolition of Mechelen.

It’s a massive relief all round. Brugge are in a title battle with Union SG with seven games left. Nigeria have the Unity Cup coming up plus friendlies against Portugal and Poland — and coach Eric Chelle needs his midfielder fit.

This season Onyedika has 3 goals and 2 assists across 39 appearances. He scored twice in Nigeria’s 3-1 win over Uganda at AFCON. Missing him wasn’t an option.