Nigeria international Ogenyi Onazi has come to the rescue of his former teammate Sani Emmanuel who is battling with a long-term injury.

Emmanuel who was named the best player at the 2009 FIFA U17 World Cup hosted by Nigeria, has been suffering from achilles tendonitis which forced his early retirement from football.

The 26-year old couldn’t afford to foot his own bills and has been soliciting for help on social media.

However, it was his former Nigeria and Lazio teammate Onazi who has stepped forward to cover the costs of his surgery.

“I got a call from the doctor that Onazi has paid N1.4m for my surgery and also transferred 50k for my ticket to Lagos. Thank you very much, brother. May God continue to bless you. The surgery is scheduled for 2nd of December 2019,”an elated Emmanuel wrote on his Intagram page.

Onazi who was part of the Eagles team that won the 2013 AFCON in South Africa, also recently returned to football after a six-month injury lay off due to an achilles injury.