Abroad: Obafemi Martins to sit on the sidelines for the next six or seven months

Nigerian forward, Obafemi Akinwunmi Martins picked up an injury on Tuesday during his club’s Asian Champions League group stage match. The Shanghai Shenhua forward had to leave the pitch halfway through the match due to a torn hamstring as revealed by his club on Wednesday. Martins, 33, will be out for at least six months meaning that he is ruled out of selection to join the Super Eagles’ squad for the 2018 FIFA World cup finals commencing on the 14th of June - a blow to the veteran and perhaps the inconsistent Nigerian frontline.

To literally add insult to injury, Martins’ Shanghai Shenhua did not make it to the knockout stages of the Asian Champions League as a result of that 2-2 draw against Kashima Antlers. A man in form, who grabbed a hatrick in Shenhua’s 4-2 win over Hebei China Fortune on Saturday will have to sit out the greater part of the 2018 Chinese Super League tournament.

The former Newcastle and Inter Milan striker  joined the CSL side at the start of the 2016 season from Major League Soccer side, Seattle Sounders.