‘It’s extremely difficult to accept’ - Dessers opens up on injury that forced him out of AFCON

Dessers sustained the injury during a training session ahead of Nigeria's match against Uganda and missed the two games

The medical evaluations confirmed the severity of the knock, projecting a long recovery time of 10 to 12 weeks.

Consequently, the decision was made for him to return to his club in Greece to begin his rehabilitation, ruling him out of the rest of the tournament in Morocco.

In a social media post, the former Rangers forward expressed his deep disappointment with the timing of the injury. 

He described the situation as "extremely difficult to accept" but vowed to support his teammates from the sidelines as they continue their quest for the AFCON 2025 title.

In an emotional statement, Dessers highlighted the dual impact of the injury on both his international and club commitments with Panathinaikos.

"Unfortunately, I sustained an injury at AFCON. It’s extremely difficult to accept that I will miss the remainder of the tournament and an important period at Panathinaikos," Dessers wrote.

"I will be our biggest fan in these weeks, go full in rehab and hopefully we can celebrate a win and goal together soon."

The striker had been poised to play a significant role for Nigeria in the knockout stages, but the injury has cut his tournament short.

Despite losing a key attacker, the Super Eagles have continued their strong run of form, securing a spot in the quarter-finals with a series of convincing performances.