Ideye replaces Mikel

Nigeria have called up uncapped Sochaux forward Brown Ideye to replace John Obi Mikel in their squad for the World Cup after the Chelsea midfielder was ruled out of the tournament due to injury.

There are conflicting reports regarding the injury suffered by Mikel, with media officer Idah Peterside saying it was an ankle injury rather than the knee problem team co-ordinator, Emmanuel Attah, had earlier blamed.

"Mikel suffered a bruise to his ankle and a scan showed that he will not recover on time," Peterside told www.kickoffnigeria.com. "The coach has now decided to call up Brown Ideye to replace him."