By Oluwadamilola Olaleye
Pari NN head coach Alexey Shpilevsky has confirmed that winger Olusegun Olakunle is currently sidelined with a knee injury sustained while on international duty with Nigeria.
Olusegun was a notable absentee in Pari NN’s 16th-round RPL World Cup defeat to Zenit Saint Petersburg, ending his streak of consecutive league appearances since joining the club on loan from Krasnodar in the summer.
Shpilevsky revealed that the 22-year-old picked up the knock during a difficult international window for the Super Eagles, who failed to progress to the next stage of the 2026 FIFA World Cup playoffs—marking Nigeria’s second straight absence from the global finals.
Olusegun’s form since arriving in Nizhny Novgorod had been impressive enough to earn him his first senior call-up, shortly after Nigeria lifted the London Unity Cup. His absence therefore marked a significant loss for Pari NN’s attacking options.
“We’ll see if Olusegun is ready – he had some discomfort in his knee after the national team,” Shpilevsky said in his post-match press conference.
Despite the setback, the winger is expected to return for Pari NN’s next fixture and is anticipated to be fully fit for Nigeria’s squad selection ahead of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations.
Samuel Ahmadu is a distinguished multimedia journalist and women's football expert with over 15 years of experience in the industry. On the back of domestic engagement since 2008, he began his international career journey at Goal.com in February 2014, where he served as an African women's football correspondent for nearly eight years. During his tenure at Goal.com, Samuel covered major events such as three Women's Africa Cup of Nations (2016, 2018, 2022) and the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup in Canada plus 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia. His work at Goal.com earned him widespread acclaim, particularly for his in-depth profiles of African football stars, notably Asisat Oshoala, whose rise he documented from her early years to her breakthrough at the FIFA U20 Women's World Cup in 2014. Prior to his role at Goal.com, Samuel freelanced for various print and broadcast media outlets in Nigeria, including Graphics Newspaper, Radio Nigeria, Grace FM, and Savid Newspaper. His extensive experience and expertise led to his appointment to the Nigeria Football Federation's Standing Committee on Women's Football Development from 2016 to 2018. Since February 2018, Samuel has been the Social Media Manager for Nigeria's women's national teams.In 2019, Samuel joined the Confederation of African Football (CAF) as a women's football content contributor and was promoted to Women's Football Editor in 2021. His contributions to women's football continued as he worked as a Media Consultant for Content Creation and Editorials at the 2022 CAF Women's Champions League. Currently, Samuel also serves as the spokesman for the Nigeria Women Football League, further solidifying his influence and dedication to the growth of women's football in Africa.
