Nigeria have replaced injured striker Odion Ighalo with Galatasaray forward Henry Onyekuru for an upcoming 2019 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against South Africa .
China - based Ighalo, who plays for Changchun Yatai , is the leading scorer in the Africa Cup qualifiers with six goals.
But a hamstring injury that has sidelined him for five weeks means Onyekuru comes off the standby list to take his place in the Super Eagles squad , said the Nigeria Football Federation .
NFF spokesman Toyin Ibitoye said he expects the players who will replace key absentees like Ighalo, Shehu Abdullahi , Francis Uzoho and Wilfred Ndidi to rise to the occasion .
“ It’ s a massive blow to be without a player who has scored six goals in the last three matches for the Eagles, ” Ibitoye said .
“ So it’ s a big challenge to fill this role , but we have a lot of options in this regard and it is left for the other players to rise to the occasion .
“ Other players need to prove themselves worthy to the coaches and Nigerians that they can do it. ”
Group E leaders Nigeria face second -placed South Africa on November 17 in Johannesburg.
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