Onigbinde said: ‘‘I cannot confirm whether Kanu will play but I am happy to report that his condition has improved tremendously.

‘‘He is still under the watchful eye of the team doctor, and we hope by the evening he will give us his final observations of whether we can use him or not.’’

But Onigbinde admitted Kanu is not guaranteed a place even if he is declaredfit.

‘‘Even if he is 100% fi I may decide not to use him, just like any other player in the team,’’ he said.

‘‘All our players are capable of representing Nigeria effectively. We have used different set-ups in all our friendly matches, and this is why.’’

‘‘We wanted every player tested to see what every player could do. Obviously as a person we will miss Kanu, but I can assure you that we have other boys who can play well in that position.’’