Frederick ruled out of AFCON 2025

by Staff Reporter

Wednesday Nov 26, 2025. 11:00

Nigeria head coach Eric Chelle has been dealt a massive blow with the news that Benjamin Fredrick will miss the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) due to a knee injury.

The 20-year-old defender has been a revelation for the Super Eagles since making his debut against Jamaica in the Unity Cup on May 31 which was hosted at the Gtech Community Stadium, the home of his parent club Brentford.

Fredrick has yet to feature for the Bees and was sent out on loan to Belgian Pro League side Dender for the 2025-26 season in order to gain first-team experience.

However, the youngster was absent for their 2-1 victory over Royal Antwerp on Saturday and it has since been revealed that he sustained an injury in training the previous day.

Fredrick started the last six World Cup qualifiers under Chelle and was expected to go to AFCON next month, but he is now set to be ruled out for the rest of the year, according to African journalist Oluwashína Okeleji.

“#BrentfordFC’s #Nigeria defender Benjamin Fredrick set to miss #AFCON2025 with knee injury picked up in training at Belgian club Dender on Friday,” Okeleji announced on X. “Expected to return to action after the tournament.”