Chelsea
coach, Rafa Benitez, has delayed Mikel Obi and Victor Moses from
joining the Super Eagles at their Faro training camp in Portugal. He
plans to keep the duo for their cup ties against Southampton and Swansea
before releasing them for the Africa Cup of Nations.
Mikel and Moses, integral players since Benitez took
control at Stamford Bridge, are in the Nigeria squad which was due to
report for a pre-tournament training camp in Portugal on Thursday.
The Chelsea pair have been granted permission to stay
in London until after the New Year but Benitez is negotiating to keep
them for as long as possible as his team become embroiled in a cluttered
fixture list.
The Blues launch their defence of the FA Cup at
Southampton on January 5, four days before the first leg of the Capital
One Cup semi-final at home to Swansea.
Benitez accepts he is unlikely to have them around by the time they play Stoke in the Barclays Premier League on January 12.
“The tournament starts on the 19th, so they will go one or two weeks before,” Benitez said.
“Maybe we can manage to keep them a little bit
longer. We will talk with them. They know sometimes the players do not
need to go early. But at least one week before the 19th, they have to be
there.”
Nigeria’s first game of the tournament in South
Africa is on Janaury 21 against Burkina Faso. The final is on February
10, four days before Chelsea are due to play in Prague in the Europa
League.
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