Eric Chelle sweating over the fitness of Nathan Tella as Leverkusen coach provides worrying update

Super Eagles coach Eric Chelle is anxiously monitoring the fitness of Bayer Leverkusen forward Nathan Tella ahead of Nigeria’s crucial 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers against Rwanda and Zimbabwe.

This comes after Leverkusen manager Xabi Alonso provided a concerning update on Tella’s muscular injury ahead of their Bundesliga clash against Stuttgart on Sunday.

Tella, who was named in Nigeria’s 23-man squad for the qualifiers, was an unused substitute in Leverkusen’s 2-0 UEFA Champions League defeat to Bayern Munich on Tuesday night at the BayArena.

His absence from the starting lineup raised eyebrows, given his impressive form and contributions to Leverkusen since the start of the year.

Addressing the situation, Alonso revealed that both Tella and Edmond Tapsoba were not fit enough to play against Bayern Munich despite being included in the squad.

"He wasn't ready to play today," Alonso said regarding Tapsoba. 

"The same applied to striker Nathan Tella. A lot has happened in one week. It would have been good for both of them if they had been able to play. 

"The decision was that both weren't ready. They only trained at 50 percent," Alonso stated in his post-match press conference, as reported by Kicker.

The Spanish tactician also refrained from confirming whether Tella would be available for Leverkusen’s Bundesliga match against Stuttgart. "We'll have to see what happens on Sunday," he added.

If Tella is unable to recover in time for the weekend fixture, it would be a significant blow for Leverkusen, given his contributions this season. 

The Nigerian forward has been a key performer for the Bundesliga leaders, registering four goals and three assists in 32 matches across all competitions.

His injury update is also a source of concern for Eric Chelle, who will be hoping to have the versatile forward fit for Nigeria’s must-win encounters in Kigali and Uyo.

Adeyemi Adewale

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