Nigeria duo of Mikel Obi and Ogenyi Onazi will not be in action as their club Trabzonspor make a quest to qualify for the Europa League group stage.

Mikel Obi will play no part in Trabzonspor’s Europa League third-round first leg qualifying clash away at Sparta Prague on Thursday, Sports Extra can report.

Mikel, who completed his move to Trabzonspor last Saturday, was not part of the players that trained with the squad preparing for the clash in Prague, according to a training session video uploaded by Fanatik.com, a Turkish website, on Monday.

His compatriot, Ogenyi Onazi, will also miss the clash as he is recovering from a long injury layoff, which sidelined him for eight months.

But striker Anthony Nwakaeme, who has been impressive for Trabzonspor in pre-season, bagging two assists, is expected to lead the attack for the team for the encounter.

The former Hapoel Beer Sheva forward scored 10 goals and provided 11 assists in his debut season in the Turkish League.

Meanwhile, Trabzonspor’s coach, Unal Karaman has warned his team to be wary of counter-attacks from Slavia Prague on Thursday, insisting that a total dominance in midfield will hand them a good chance of winning.

Punch