Why Felix Agu will miss Nigeria’s September AFCON qualifiers

Werder Bremen defender Felix Agu is set to miss Nigeria’s opening 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers against Madagascar and Guinea-Bissau, Afrik-Foot reports.

The Super Eagles begin their AFCON qualifying campaign against Madagascar in Uyo on September 25 before travelling to face Guinea-Bissau four days later.

Agu would have been an interesting option for Eric Chelle, having made his senior Nigeria debut in the 2025 Unity Cup. However, the 26-year-old has not played a competitive match for Werder Bremen this season after suffering another injury during the summer.

That lack of match fitness, combined with the timing of his latest setback, means Agu is facing another frustrating international absence.

Felix Agu is still not ready for competitive football

The clearest reason for Agu’s absence is that he has not yet returned to full team training at Werder Bremen.

As per Deich Stube, the defender had only made a partial return to training, while Mitchell Weiser had already resumed full team training.

Agu cannot simply return from injury and immediately join the Super Eagles, particularly when Nigeria’s September qualifiers will begin only a few days after the latest Werder training update.

The defender therefore needs to complete his rehabilitation, increase his workload and eventually regain competitive sharpness before he can realistically be considered for international football.

His current 2026/27 numbers underline the problem. Agu has made zero competitive appearances and played zero minutes for Werder Bremen so far this season. That is despite the fact that he did return to action during pre-season.

Agu featured in Werder’s 2-0 friendly victory over VfL Bochum on July 25, marking his return after a lengthy spell on the sidelines, but that comeback did not translate into competitive football.

Another injury has interrupted Agu’s progress

The timing of Agu’s latest injury is particularly unfortunate because it came after he had already endured a difficult 2025/26 campaign.

The Nigerian missed 14 matches after suffering an ankle injury in October 2025 and only returned against Freiburg in February 2026, four months after his previous appearance. Werder confirmed that he had been sidelined for 14 games.

His comeback was followed by another setback. Agu sustained an adductor injury during the warm-up before Werder’s Bundesliga match against St Pauli on February 22, with the club subsequently confirming that the muscular problem would keep him out for the foreseeable future.

He later suffered another muscular problem in April, adding to a growing list of fitness interruptions.

Agu missed 19 matches through injury during the 2025/26 season alone, including the lengthy ankle problem, an adductor injury and a further muscular injury.

The latest setback has now continued that frustrating pattern into the new campaign, forcing the club to pause talks about a new contract.

Why Agu’s absence matters to Eric Chelle

Agu’s absence leaves Chelle without a player who offers an important combination of versatility and experience.

The Werder defender can operate on either flank and has spent much of his Bundesliga career adapting to different roles. More importantly, Agu is still relatively inexperienced with the Super Eagles.

He has only one senior international appearance to his name, having made his Nigeria debut against Jamaica in the 2025 Unity Cup. That means the September qualifiers would have offered another opportunity for Chelle to assess him in competitive international football.

Instead, the coach must wait, a tough decision considering he has just one left-back fit in Bruno Onyemaechi. That is the real concern.

If Agu returns to full training and stays fit, he could still become an important option for the Super Eagles during the AFCON qualifying campaign.

For the September window, however, his recovery has simply come too late, and given the defender’s injury history, Chelle will have little reason to rush him back before he has regained the fitness and rhythm required for international football.