Panathinaikos forward Cyriel Dessers has broken his silence after being ruled out of the remainder of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) due to injury, confirming that he had to leave the Super Eagles camp at a crucial stage of the tournament.
The 31-year-old striker expressed his disappointment on social media, admitting the setback was difficult to process while pledging his full support for Nigeria as they continue their AFCON journey.
In an emotional post, the former Rangers forward shared the personal toll of the injury on both his international aspirations and club season.
“Unfortunately, I sustained an injury at AFCON. It’s very hard to accept that I will miss the rest of the tournament and an important period at Panathinaikos,” Dessers wrote.
“I will be our biggest fan in the coming weeks, focus fully on rehab, and hopefully celebrate a win and a goal together soon.”
Dessers had been eager to play a pivotal role as Nigeria aimed for a deep run at AFCON 2025, but the injury abruptly ended his involvement.
The striker suffered the knock during a training session ahead of Nigeria’s group stage match against Uganda. Medical checks later confirmed he would be sidelined for 10 to 12 weeks, leading to his release from camp to concentrate on recovery, ruling him out of the remainder of the tournament in Morocco.
Despite his absence, Nigeria has continued with the core squad that dominated the group stage, maintaining momentum into the knockout rounds and keeping their title ambitions alive.
Super Eagles head coach Eric Chelle commented on the injury, emphasizing that taking risks with Dessers’ fitness was not an option.
“Dessers spoke with me this morning. He has an injury and will be out for maybe 10 to 12 weeks,” Chelle said.
“I’m disappointed for him. We need to play a strong game for him tomorrow. We have to focus on the task ahead and give our best. No need to worry—just play a great game tomorrow.”
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