Troost-Ekong Undergoes Surgery After Nations Cup Injury, Ruled Out Of The Season

Super Eagles defender, William Troost-Ekong has undergone leg surgery after sustaining the injury while on national team duty for Nigeria at the Nations Cup in Ivory Coast.

The surgery was done in Finland on Tuesday to repair a ruptured biceps femoris in his right leg, and he is expected to be out of action between three to six months with recovery time.

This means he is out till the end of the season, which will come as a big blow for his club, PAOK FC, who are battling it out with AEK Athens for the Greek league title.

They are also in the second round of the Europa Conference League with a clash against Dinamo Zagreb.

Troost-Ekong sustained a hamstring injury in the second game against Ivory Coast before he was rested for the last group game against Equatorial Guinea.

The 30-year-old has vowed to return stronger and better for club and country.

Troost-Ekong said: “As many know, I got injured during AFCON. Disappointingly, this injury has turned out to be more serious than first thought. I have always given everything and pushed myself. Every player has played with pain at some point in their career to fight for club or country. It’s part of the game,”

Ekong revealed that he played through the injury in the knockout stages of the competition for Nigeria.

He said: “I managed to continue in the knockout stages, and I was willing to continue to do the same now to help PAOK push for the prizes in the league and Europe too. But after more assessments and consultations, it was the best decision long-term to undergo surgery now. My full focus is on getting back better than ever before.”

Ekong scored three goals for the Super Eagles in the competition and also won the player of the tournament award to become the first defender to win the award after Rigobert Song in 2002.

The PAOK FC defender was the Super Eagles stand-in captain in Ivory Coast and he led the team with impeccable leadership quality and also showed his goalscoring threat with vital goals in the competition.

William Troost-Ekong scored the winning goal against Ivory Coast in the group stage before popping up with the only goal against South Africa and rounding it up with a stunning header in the final against Ivory Coast.