EPL: Chukwueze fit as Aina nears return

Super Eagles winger Samuel Chukwueze has been passed fit to play for Fulham against Wolverhampton Wanderers at Craven Cottage on Saturday, while compatriot Ola Aina is making good progress in his recovery from a hamstring injury at Nottingham Forest.

The 26-year-old Chukwueze has played 63 minutes of football for the Cottagers since joining from AC Milan on loan during the summer transfer window.

While he didn’t play against Lesotho, Chukwueze played 45 minutes in Nigeria’s 4-0 win over Benin, providing two assists for Victor Osimhen.

Since then, he hasn’t played for Marco Silva’s side due to a calf problem. In that time, Fulham didn’t win any games in normal time.

Fulham head coach Marco Silva, in his pre-match press conference ahead of their game against Vitor Pereira’s side, mentioned his side has a number of players back who weren’t present in their loss to Newcastle United.

“Things look better,” the Portuguese tactician said. “Smith Rowe and Harry Wilson are in contention. Rodrigo Muniz and Samuel Chukwueze (are also) in contention.”

Fulham have lost four of their last five games, whilst Wolves have lost three consecutive games and are without a win in five.

Meanwhile, Aina suffered a hamstring tear in Nigeria’s 1-1 draw against South Africa during the September international break and had to undergo surgery on his hamstring, ruling him out for at least three months and putting his participation in the AFCON 2025 tournament in doubt.

In a video posted by the club on Aina’s birthday, the former Chelsea defender was seen taking part in physio sessions to help his hamstring regain elasticity.

Ahead of their Premier League clash against Manchester United this weekend, Forest manager Sean Dyche revealed that the Nigerian right-back is making progress in his recovery journey and isn’t far from first-team action.

“Ola (Aina) is making good progress. Zinchenko is a no at the moment, unfortunately, and it is going to be a bit longer than we thought,” the former Everton boss said about the injuries.

Since Aina got injured against South Africa, no right-back has played for Nigeria. Instead, FCV Dender defender Benjamin Frederick has been the makeshift full-back.

The Brentford loanee has performed well in an unfamiliar role, but Aina’s absence has been felt. The synergy at the back and the runs bombing forward were missed in the remainder of the World Cup qualifiers.

With his return on the horizon, Eric Chelle can bank on some experience at the back since he’s been slowly phasing the captain, William Troost-Ekong, out of the Super Eagles starting line-up.

Click here to read article