Rangers midfielder Joe Aribo faces a nervous international wait after being sidelined with a nasty head wound and 20 stitches against Livingston.
The talented midfielder was caught by Ricki Lamie’s elbow as the Livi star aggressively hopped into two challenges about 20 minutes into the Betfred Cup Quarter Final which Rangers eventually won 1-0.
The fact that he faces a few weeks out for Rangers is bad enough, but it’ll hurt more knowing the injury is also threatening to keep Aribo out of Nigeria’s upcoming friendly with Brazil.
Rangers boss Steven Gerrard said the Ibrox medical team would assess Aribo and admitted the midfielder had a very nasty head wound which went down to the “bone”.
The Gers gaffer also admitted that he would be “very surprised” [Rangers] to see Aribo in a Rangers shirt again before the next international break.
That would indicate that there is a chance that Aribo could miss the friendly with Brazil in Singapore on the 13th of October.
That would be a major blow for Aribo, who’d previously expressed his excitement about the prospect of playing against the likes of Neymar in the glamour friendly [Herald].
The midfielder would’ve also been looking to continue the momentum from his first cap with the country, having scored on his debut for the Super Eagles earlier in the month.
Aribo had already begun to catch the eye of the adoring Nigerian supporters and this will come as a major blow to those fans who were excited to see the midfielder play in Asia.
Let’s hope he makes it.