Nigeria may have to wrap star striker Victor Osimhen in cotton wool, put him in a bubble, place bodyguards around him during training, and inspect the pitch for anything with the potential to cause injury until they kick off their 2023 Africa Cup of Nations title hunt.

Nigeria have travelled to a tournament without the usual drama of making the headlines for rows over money, after president Bola Tinubu approved money to clear all outstanding wages and bonuses to the coaches and players, but an unfortunate rash of injuries have put the Super Eagles front and centre and is threatening to undermine their title tilt.

On Friday, Paul Onuachu became the third replacement player to be called up for Nigeria ahead of their opening game against Equatorial Guinea on Sunday, named in place of the injured Sadiq Umar, who suffered a knee injury in Monday’s friendly game against Guinea.

Umar’s departure came just days after Victor Boniface had also been forced to withdraw with injury. The Bayer Leverkusen striker underwent surgery the same day Umar was withdrawing from the squad. He was replaced by OGC Nice forward Terem Moffi.

This run of ill-luck has left the Super Eagles without at least five of their best players going into Africa’s showpiece competition. For a team whose strength centred on a terrifying attacking talent featuring the likes of Osimhen, Taiwo Awoniyi, Boniface, Kelechi Iheanacho, Ademola Lookman, Umar amongst others, they have now been reduced to almost scraping the barrel for goalscoring forwards.

As such, coach Jose Peseiro only has 19 outfield players available to play against the Equato-Guineans. Of that number, Osimhen is the lone out and out striker, although because of their versatility, the Portuguese may well call on Ademola Lookman and Ahmed Musa to fill in if needed.

Peseiro’s issue however, is two-fold. First, the two late replacements, Moffi and Onuachu, will not arrive in time to train with the rest of the squad before the opening game.

Second, where he had a selection headache, especially upfront, Peseiro now has only one striker to pick. And this is why it is important that the Super Eagles protect Osimhen at all costs, as the team are now just one injury away from having no striker at all.

Former defender Joseph Yobo, who captained the team when they won their last title in 2013, told ESPN the team may have to protect Osimhen from himself: “Osimhen trains the way he plays. That’s just the way he is, he gives everything! He doesn’t like to lose, whether it is training or a game. It is the one thing I like about him.

“Whatever you see in games, I saw it in training. It is now up to him, does he want to tone it down in training to avoid injury? The defenders may have to tell him to calm down. Although as things stand, our defenders are also fighting for spots on the team so every one will want to go hard too.

“But they have to now consider that he is our best source of goals so we as a team need to protect him.”

Despite the injuries, Nigeria have such an abundance of talent that the replacements are almost as good as the players lost. Yobo feels the only concern is whether they are mentally prepared: “The only thing is, are they mentally ready for AFCON right now?

“Having been named in the provisional squad and then not in the final squad, players tend to get disappointed. So now, will they be up for it to grab the opportunity now, to prove themselves that they are worth the spot? If they are not mentally ready, it will affect the team.”

Peseiro’s decision to pick only 25 players rather than the 27 allowed by CAF competition rules, is not looking like such a great idea now. But within the squad itself, confidence has not waned.

“We know that we have good players here,” skipper Ahmed Musa said. “Nobody is happy to see injuries, but we came here to win the cup and we have not changed. It is important for us to start well, so everybody who is here will do our best to win this match on Sunday.”