*El Kanemi goalkeeper, Yekini, sorry over injury
Enugu Rangers striker, Ifeanyi Egwim, is expected to make a return to competitive football in four months barring any hitch.
Rangers’ club’s doctor, Emeka Onyia, disclosed to supersport.com. yesterday that the former Dolphins man has undergone a first operation at the National Orthopaedic Hospital in Enugu following a tibia-fibular fracture he sustained during his team’s Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) final day game against El-Kanemi Warriors on Sunday.
Onyia confirmed that the Rangers man is in stable condition after having his broken leg operation upon at the hospital in Enugu and should make his way to playing in the sport in four months once he goes through rehabilitation.
He further explained why the hospital decided to operate on Egwim in Nigeria despite the Enugu State Governor, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, ordering that the player be flown abroad for treatment.
“We just left the operating theatre not long ago and the operation on Ifeanyi went well and he is currently stable. The operation had to be carried out on him considering that the fracture he sustained on his tibia-fibular was an open one, so we had to operate rather than fly him abroad if we take into cognisance of the process it might take to get visas and other documents.
“Mind you, money in flying him abroad isn’t the issue here but we needed to put the career of Ifeanyi into consideration first before thinking of the option of flying him abroad considering the nature of his injured.
However if there is need to fly him abroad that will be done.
“The time-frame for his return should be four months,” the Rangers team doctor revealed.
Egwim suffered a leg fracture in his team’s 4-0 win after coming off the bench to replace Ocheme Edoh in a one-on-one situation with El-Kanemi goalkeeper, Kazeem Yekeen. Television replays have shown that Egwim simply slipped and fell leading to the fracture without any contact from Yekeen, who was sent off for the incident with Rangers being awarded a spot kick.
Meanwhile, Kazeem has described as regrettable the sour incident on that almost marred the end chapter of the top-flight.
Kazeem said he has no intention whatsoever to cause any form of injury on the Rangers man, Egwim.
“I feel very bad over the unfortunate incident I have not been myself since that day.
“The truth is that the guy has cropped the injury prior to getting in contact with me.
“I could not have gone out of my way intentionally to hurt him knowing what we players face in the hands of club managements whenever we are injured.
“It was a one-on-one situation I went for the ball but I could not. He jumped up to avoid me and in the process went down wrongly.
“When I looked up, it was red card from the referee to me. I was surprised because I did not have any contact with him. However, the injury overshadowed every other thing for all of us that Sunday evening. It was really painful.
“I’m a careful goalkeeper so it was naturally for me to feel very sad and sorry for the whole incident.
“I’m willing to personal visit him in the hospital to wish him quickest recovery,” said the former Bayelsa United shot stopper to supersport.com.
