Eagle's Depart For Brasilia Ahead Monday round Of 16 Tie Against France

Abuja – The national team, Super Eagles, will travel out of their camp in Campinas on Friday evening to Brasilia for their Monday round of 16 tie against France.
A statement issued from Brazil on Thursday by Ben Alaiya, the Super Eagles Media Officer, said all logistics had been perfected for the trip by FIFA in conjunction with the team.
It said that the injured midfielder, Babatunde Michael, had undergone a successful surgery on his fractured wrist and returned to camp, ahead of the trip to Brasilia.
“Unfortunately, he (Babatunde) is ruled out of the tournament because it will take at least three weeks for that surgery to heal.
“We are sad about that but we have people who can fill in for him very well and I think we have to win France for him,” Keshi added.
Keshi said Nigerians should not fret over the development as there were capable replacements for the player.
The statement also quoted Keshi as saying that Moses would return to action in the match against France after the injury he sustained in the game against Iran.
“Moses has a muscle strain that was discovered by the team’s medics after the first game against Iran.
“He was advised to rest it so that he can come out better in subsequent games.
“We can understand that all players want to play at the big stage.
“It is, however, up to us and the medical team to manage their career and balance it with due diligence regarding their health.
“That is why we have not played him,’’ the statement quoted Keshi as saying.
Moses, it would be recalled, watched the last game from the stands with technical officials and was not dressed for the encounter.
Keshi also took exception to news that his players said they would not play the next game because they had not been paid.
“We don’t have money issues here; I talk to the players and the NFA leadership everytime.
“So, I wonder what some people want to achieve by always drawing us back from our set goals,’’ he said. (NAN)