Joe Aribo has played his 70th game of the season and there could yet be one more to go.
Tonight in Abuja, Nigeria defeated Sierra Leone 2-1 with the goals coming from Alex Iwobi and Victor Osimhen. Rangers’ Aribo and Calvin Bassey played the full game as the Super Eagles got their AFCON qualification off to a positive start.
FULL TIME
The Super Eagles win in Abuja.
Perfect start to AFCON Qualifiers campaign.#NGASLE | #AFCON2023Q pic.twitter.com/vxBJtVQeDa
— Soar Super Eagles (@SSE_NGA) June 9, 2022
No rest is guaranteed yet as Nigeria are scheduled to play Sao Tome and Principe on Monday afternoon but hopefully from Rangers perspective, the two London-born players will be spared.
It has been an endurance test, a marathon season for Aribo in particular who should get a bit more downtime ahead of the start of pre-season on Monday 27th June at Auchenhowie. Bassey meanwhile, hit the 55 mark for appearances across club and country commitments.
Demands
Since the outset of last season, he has featured 13 times for Nigeria, whilst it was 57 appearances over the course of 21/22 in the royal blue of Rangers. Obviously that was increased with the long Europa League run, all the way to Seville but that number is too much and an intense demand on one player. It is to Aribo’s credit that he has been so prominent for the whole season, despite speaking of his disappointment at failing to qualify for the World Cup and its effect on his return to Ibrox.
Now is the time to rest and recover.