Super Eagles forward admits not being 100% fit ahead of AFCON qualifiers: ‘There’s a little pain’

Published on by Emmanuel Ayamga

Nigeria international Moses Simon has opened up on his journey back to fitness after spending close to four months on the sidelines due to injury. The Nantes winger missed the tail end of the last season when he fractured his fibular in March.

Simon was on international duty with Nigeria when he suffered a serious injury and was stretchered off in tears as the Super Eagles fell to a 2-0 defeat against Mali in a friendly.

While the 29-year-old was ruled out for the remainder of the season, he returned to action in July and featured in all five of Nantes’ pre-season matches and contributed two goals. Simon also started in the club’s Ligue 1 opener against Toulouse last week and lasted 75 minutes before being substituted.

Simon is once again likely to start in Nantes’ home game against Auxerre on Sunday and the winger has revealed that despite being cleared to play, he’s not a 100% fit yet.  

AFCON qualifiers could come too early for Moses Simon

With Nigeria’s 2025 AFCON qualifiers against Benin and Rwanda on the horizon, it remains to be seen whether Simon will be invited for the aforementioned assignments.

Moses Simon admits not being 100% fit ahead of AFCON qualifiers: ‘There’s a little pain’
Photo by IMAGO

“I feel good now. The end of the season was difficult for me, mentally too. I'm not 100% but I'm okay. It's not in the head. There is a little pain, but it's okay for the moment,” Simon told Nantes’ official website.

“It's been a long time since I played at the Beaujoire, in front of everyone: supporters, friends… My last match was in March. I'm really happy to be playing at the Beajoire again… I'm not going to play every match. If I'm not 100%, I won't play. If another player is better, he'll play. If you're on the bench, the coach talks to you too!”

Simon scored three goals and provided six assists in 22 Ligue 1 matches last season.  

Super Eagles forward admits not being 100% fit ahead of AFCON qualifiers: ‘There’s a little pain’

Emmanuel Ayamga

Emmanuel Ayamga is a Ghanaian journalist with a little over five years of experience writing about African football.

His articles and features have been published in renowned news media like Pulse Ghana, The Guardian, DW, Al Jazeera and Sportskeeda. His bylines can also be found in the UK journals World Soccer Magazine and These Football Times.