By Amaechi Agbo

Super Eagles Winger, Samuel Chukwueze will once again not feature for his club, Villarreal of Spain when his side visit Italian giants, Atalanta in the first group match of the 2022 UEFA Champions League later today, www.bestchoicesports.com.ng can report.

Chukwueze’s Villarreal are on the road in Group F and they will battle their host at the Estadio de la Ceramica without the former Diamond Football Academy star on the roster.

The forward was one of the best players for the Yellow Submarine last season, but he has been out for the since May a situation that coach Unai Emery is worried about.

Emery expressed his concern over the recovery rate of the Nigerian forward which underlines his importance to the club

The Super Eagles winger was diagnosed with an injury to the anterior rectus of his left leg after he was substituted in Villarreal’s Europa league semi-final fixture against Arsenal last season.

The injury ruled him out of the Europa League final against Manchester United but he hasn’t been able to make an appearance for the Yellow Submarine till date.

Ahead of Villareal’s Champions League fixture against Atalanta, Emery expressed his concern over Chukwueze.

“He’s going a little bit slower than we wanted to, and we still want to go cautiously with him,” Emery said in a press conference.

It was reported that Chukwueze was back in training last week, but the Spanish manager is unsure about the 22-year-old’s return, as his case has proven to be a hard nut to crack.

The Villarreal prodigy will hope to get fit as soon as possible as he has already missed the opening four games of the 2021/22 La Liga season.