Greece can breathe a sigh of relief ahead of the Nigeria
friendly, with Sokratis Papastathopoulos thought to have escaped serious
injury.
The Borussia Dortmund centre-back pulled up shortly
before half-time in Greece's uninspiring 0-0 draw with Portugal in Oeiras on
Saturday with what appeared to be a hamstring problem.
Initially there were fears that Papastathopoulos'
participation in the upcoming FIFA World Cup could be in doubt, but reports in
the Greek media suggest that the damage is not as bad as first feared.
While Tuesday's fixture against Nigeria in Pennsylvania
is likely to come too soon, coach Fernando Santos could welcome
Papastathopoulos back into the squad for the final warm-up game versus Bolivia
at the Red Bull Arena on Friday.
Santos' attention may turn to the other end of the pitch,
where Greece showed a notable lack of goal threat against Paulo Bento's men.
Kostas Mitroglou started in that fixture alongside
Georgios Samaras, the former getting the nod despite struggling since moving to
Fulham in January.
But, with neither forward making a strong case, Santos
may give opportunities to the likes of PAOK's Dimitris Salpingidis and the
experienced Theofanis Gekas of Konyaspor, the duo no doubt keen for action
before their World Cup opener with Colombia on June 14.
For Nigeria, the match may represent an opportunity to
give the more tried and tested players an outing after a team consisting
largely of World Cup hopefuls could only muster a 2-2 draw with Scotland last
Wednesday.
Coach Stephen Keshi left the likes of goalkeeper Vincent
Enyeama and midfielder John Obi Mikel out of squad, as Uche Nwofor's
90th-minute goal rescued a draw at Craven Cottage.
Peter Odemwingie came off the bench in that game, and the
Stoke City forward is desperate for success with the national team after
missing out on the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations victory.
Speaking to The Guardian, he said: "In the past few
years my only regret is that, as I've become a better player, I probably would
have got more goals for myself and the country but I missed out a bit.
"I've missed a year and a half, missed out on the
cup they won, unfortunately. I wish I was part of that squad because I've
played in four Africa Nations and got three bronze medals, never a gold.
"But I can't look back. This is another opportunity
for me."
Culled from Soccerway
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