Super Eagles head coach Jose Peseiro has claimed his side is still strong despite having to replace some of his key stars in the squad for the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations.
Nigeria’s preparation for the competition has been hampered by injuries to some of the key stars.
Leicester City midfielder Wilfred Ndidi was to pull out of the squad due to injury.
The 26-year-old was replaced by Royal Antwerp’s Alhassan Yusuf.
Victor Boniface and Umar Sadiq have also been ruled out of the competition, with Terem Moffi and Paul Onuachu replacing them.
Despite the setback, Peseiro believed that there was still enough quality in his team to go all the way in Cote d’Ivoire.
“It’s unfortunate that those players can’t be here with us; they all want to play, but they can’t because of injury,” Peseiro told a press conference in Abidjan on Saturday.
“The good thing is that we have the players to replace them.
“It’s not much of a problem for us because we have picked players with the same profile.
“Onuachu is similar to Sadiq, Moffi and Boniface are not different, same thing with Ndidi and Alhassan.
“These players have different characters, but in terms of profiles, they are not different.