FES, Morocco — Super Eagles players Bright Osayi-Samuel and Wilfred Ndidi have sent their best wishes to Anthony Joshua after the Nigerian-British boxer was involved in a fatal car crash outside Lagos on Monday.
Joshua was injured and two of his support team were killed in the two-vehicle crash on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway on Monday morning, plunging the Nigerian and UK sports worlds into mourning.
Speaking in the aftermath of their 3-1 Africa Cup of Nations victory over Uganda in Fes, Morocco on Tuesday, Nigeria‘s Super Eagles sent their condolences to the hospitalised heavyweight champion.
“It wasn’t great, especially as it happened back home as well,” Birmingham City’s Osayi-Samuel told ESPN. “Thankfully he was ok.
“It’s tragic to hear that two of his friends died. We just hope he gets better.”
Two of Joshua’s friends and trainers — Sina Ghami and Latif Ayodele — were killed in the crash as the vehicle in which they were travelling collided with a stationary truck in the morning of December 29.
“Man, it was a difficult one,” Super Eagles captain Ndidi added, sharing how the camp reacted to learning of the news.
“When we heard he lost his family, it was really sad. I hope he can recover from that.
“I wish him strength, and to his family and the families of the guys who died as well. It was a difficult one.”
According to one of the 36-year-old’s spokespeople, the former two-time unified world heavyweight champion was in a “stable condition” after being taken to hospital for assessment and medical treatment.
Cellphone footage showed Watford-born Joshua wincing in pain as he was removed from the wreckage of the crash, although the local Ogun State Government confirmed that the fighter did not need emergency treatment at the roadside.
The Super Eagles were speaking after the conclusion of Nigeria’s Group C campaign, as Paul Onuachu‘s opener and a brace from Raphael Onyedika took them past Uganda, preserving their 100-percent record as they prepare for next Monday’s Last 16 match in Fes.
The Super Eagles will take on Cameroon, the Ivory Coast or Mozambique in the next round.
