The captain of the senior national team of Nigeria marked his return to competitive football after two weeks on the sidelines with a goal for his team in their 2-4 loss to Shanghai Shenhua in the Chinese Super League.
Mikel missed the last two weeks due to fitness issues, same issue which made him miss Nigeria’s AFCON 2019 Qarabag double header clash against Libya but it took him just 22 minutes to make his mark on his comeback.
He tapped the ball home from close range in what can best be described as an easy finish which helped his team draw level at 1-1 before heading into the half time break tied at 2-2.
Despite playing his first game in over a month, he lasted the entire duration of the game but failed to help his side snatch a point from the game as two late goals handed the visiting Shanghai Shenhua all three points.
However his return to full fitness will no doubt put him in the frame to play for the Super Eagles of Nigeria for the first time after the World Cup 2018 in Russia, where he played in all the group games as Nigeria failed to go past their group.
Osas Mahawi
