The duo was not included in the Super Eagles list that will face Congo and South Africa in this month’s pair of Afcon qualifiers by the Big Boss
Coach Stephen Keshi has stated that recent injuries was the reason for dropping Victor Moses and Brown Ideye from the Nigeria squad that will take on Congo and South Africa in the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers coming up in a fortnight.
Moses was conspicuously missing from the Nigeria list announced last Friday even though he has returned to form and scored at the weekend for Stoke City in their 2-2 draw with West Ham United.
“I left him out because he’s just coming back from injury and we don’t want to take risks,’ Keshi told SuperSport.com.
“Everyone knows what I think of Victor. He’s a good kid and very talented footballer but at this point, for the upcoming games, we don’t want to take any risks.
“The first game we will play in Pointe Noire, Congo will be on artificial surface and a lot of players don’t react well to that.
“I would not want him to aggravate the injury,” he said.
West Bromwich Albion’s Ideye was also not called up by Keshi who has been given another chance to continue in his role as Nigeria coach after being sacked two weeks ago.
“Ideye is also a good kid. Like you know, he was also recently injured,” the 52-year-old said.
“And the truth is that since his return, he’s not been playing much for his club. He needs to play more but I’m okay with him. No problems at all.
“The truth is that this country is blessed with a lot of very good players and not everyone can be asked to play at the same time,” he said.
Nigeria need to win their two matches in order stand a chance of defending their title at Morocco 2015 and Keshi has said it is possible.
“South Africa will be fired up following the death of their goalkeeper [Senzo Meyiwa],” said Keshi.
“They have not lost or conceded a goal since the qualifiers started and they will be eager to continue in that run.
“We faced Congo first in Calabar and to be honest, that [3-2 defeat] was not what we expected.
“We have been watching the tapes of the four games they played earlier, looking at their strengths and weaknesses.
“I am confident in the 25 players I called up for this latest assignment and I am sure they will deliver.
“Nigerians should please support this team as that will be the only way we can achieve success,” Keshi said.
The Super Eagles travel to Congo on November 15 before welcoming Bafana Bafana to Uyo on November 19.
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