Emmanuel Emenike's importance to Nigeria under Stephen Keshi is crystal clear. His pace, power, ability to hold up play with back to goal, or attack diagonally from wide, make him near indispensable in Keshi's attacking scheme.
At the World Cup, his pace and power will be crucial when Nigeria sets up on the counterattack, especially against Bosnia and Argentina.
However, a close analysis of his career so far shows some worrying issues that could impact his ability to perform at the highest level in Brazil in June.
Having followed his career in Europe, starting from his stint at the Turkish side, Karabukspor, a consistent string of muscle and ligament injuries appear to have increasingly affected his explosiveness, making him more reliant on power than pace and technique.
A UEFA study of injury incidence and injury patterns in professional football
classifies a severe injury as one that sidelines a player for more than 28 days. Emenike has had three severe injuries in the last four seasons, all of a muscular nature.
In the just concluded season, he starred in 28 league games (5 as subs), scoring 12 goals, with nine assists to emerge Turkish league champions with Fenerbahce.
This has been his best season since helping Karabukspor to the Turkish Super Liga in 2009/10,
Between the 2010/11 season and the current, he has suffered four serious muscular injuries, including an arthroscopic surgery and a hamstring tear early this year.
It is critical that Nigerian handlers be fully informed of his medical history and to accordingly design a fitness regime that is target specific to the player.
