Former Super Eagles striker, Julius Aghahowa, has described the absence of Wilfred Ndidi and Oghenekaro Etebo from the 2022 World Cup qualifying double-header against the Central African Republic due to injury as a big blow to the team.

Both players were left out by Gernot Rohr after copping injuries playing for their English Premier League clubs.

While Watford announced that Etebo would be out for four to five months, Ndidi is set to be out until November.

Speaking with Brila, Aghahowa said though Rohr already had players lined up to replace the injured stars, they won’t have enough time to mix with the team.

“That’s a big blow and it’s something to worry about. When you have players who are playing regularly for the first team, they start the game all the time and now you have this number of players injured, it’s a big blow to the team,” Aghahowa told Brila FM.

“I know definitely the coach will look for alternatives, he will find replacements for them as quickly as possible because we have a good number of players coming through the ranks at the moment. But the only issue there is that they have not gotten enough playing time for them to get into the team.

“But it is an opportunity also for the new players to show what they can do for the team.”

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UGAMTV reported on Tuesday that another former Eagles star, Victor Ikpeba, rued the absence of the duo and Alex Iwobi.

“In the middle of the park, we will be without Etebo, Ndidi and Alex, and that means we have to play with Frank Onyeka and Joe Aribo in the middle. Rohr may deploy a 4-2-3-1 formation for the games.

“I just think there’s a little bit of a lack of creativity on the pitch. Alex is not doing that. He is a great passer of the ball but we don’t have a player in the mould of a Jay Jay Okocha, Wilson Oruma and Oliseh in the team that can create chances to score from the middle with a pass,” Ikpeba said on SuperSports programme Monday Night Football, which was monitored by our correspondent.