Alex Iwobi could be dropped from the list of invitees for the World Cup qualifiers against Zambia as the 21-year-old remains sidelined with a thigh injury.
Iwobi missed Nigeria’s last set of qualifying matches against Cameroon with the same injury.
Similarly, he has been left out of Arsenal’s trip to Belarus where they face BATE Borisov tonight in the Europa League.
He, though, is now in a race against time to be fit for the October 7th World Cup qualifier against the Chipolopolo in Uyo.
Maitland-Niles last week described Iwobi as a “role model”, something which took the 21-year-old back, given the pair are friends and Iwobi just eight months the senior.
“When I hear that I’m a bit surprised because I do see him as a mate but I guess because I am the youngest who has made a lot of appearances,” he said. “When they say I’m a role model, I am a bit like, ‘whoah’, but I understand where they are coming from.”
In the first leg, the youngster scored one of the goals when Nigeria beat Zambia 2-1 in Ndola in October 2016.
