Galatasaray forward Victor Osimhen is back in the Nigeria squad after missing last month's Africa Cup of Nations qualifying fixtures against Libya.

The Super Eagles striker, who is now fully recovered from the injury which kept him out of the last round of matches, is part of the 23-man squad to face Benin and Rwanda in the last two rounds of qualifying for the 2025 tournament.

The Super Eagles will take on the Cheetahs of Benin Republic at the Stade Felix-Houphouet-Boigny on November 14, before traveling home to Uyo for the final qualifying game against the Rwanda's Amavubi at the Godswill Akpabio Stadium on November 18.

Also in the squad is Ballon d'Or nominee Ademola Lookman, who is also favoured to succeed Osimhen to win the CAF men's African Player of the Year award.

While Osimhen's return is good news, joy will be tempered by the absence of defender Semi Ajayi, who has been ruled out for four months after suffering what is said to be a high grade muscle tear, necessitating surgery, according to West Bromwich Albion manager Carlos Corberan.

That dark cloud does have a silver lining, though, with his place taken by Auxerre defender Gabriel Osho. Born in Reading, the former Luton Town defender was first called up by Nigeria in March, but was unable to make the squad due to injury.

There is a return for Real Sociedad's Sadiq Umar, whose form has picked up this season after recovering from an ACL injury.

Eguavoen is taking no chances

Having been awarded the points and three goals by the CAF Disciplinary Committee from their botched trip to Libya for their matchday four fixture, the Super Eagles sit comfortably atop qualifying Group D with 10 points.

That means they only need one point from these last two games to guarantee their place in Morocco. Coach Augustine Eguavoen could have been excused for not naming his strongest squad, but the former defender is taking no chances.

Osimhen, Lookman, Moses Simon and Victor Boniface present a loaded forward line as usual, while Fulham's Alex Iwobi anchors a midfield that includes Wilfred Ndidi, Fisayo Dele-Bashiru and Raphael Onyedika.

With this being the last fixtures for the year, and FIFA World Cup qualifying resuming in the first quarter of 2025, these games are extra opportunities to build chemistry.

Expect Eguavoen to start his best team in that first game against Benin to secure at least the point needed to get over the line.

Even if they snag all three, it is doubtful the coach will make too many changes in the second leg. Perhaps a run out for Maduka Okoye in goal, Osho for his first cap in defence, and the likes of Umar to have the rule run over them once again.

Osimhen brings much-needed firepower

Despite a plethora of in-form forwards to pick from, Nigeria continue to struggle for goals when they're without Osimhen.

In the seven games the side have played in 2024, including two friendlies, only twice have they scored two goals or more. The first was a 2-1 friendly win against Ghana without Osimhen, and the second was a 3-0 win over Benin in the first leg of Nations Cup qualifying.

Osimhen was the catalyst for the late flurry of goals. He came on with Nigeria up 1-0 and struggling to break down the Benin defence. Within six minutes, he changed all that, volleying from close range to double the score and then drawing two defenders to himself to free up space for Lookman to head in a Moses Simon cross with just one defender contesting.

Bayer Leverkusen's Boniface has led the line in Osimhen's absence, but has not shown anywhere near the same production as he does for the Bundesliga side. Taiwo Awoniyi has also not offered too much either and is not in the squad.

All of this misfiring may explain why Eguavoen - and Finidi George before him - have been playing a game of musical chairs with strikers. So far, Awoniyi, Cyriel Dessers, Paul Onuachu, Terem Moffi and Boniface have all had opportunities, with the likes of Kelechi Iheanacho and Chidera Ejuke all watching from the sidelines.