AIK recruitment manager Miika Takkula has opened up on the club's discussion with Zadok Yohanna after the winger was withdrawn from the Super Eagles squad for the upcoming Unity Cup tournament in London.
With just eighteen appearances to his name since turning professional, Zadok's inclusion in Nigeria's Unity Cup squad came as a surprise.
The teenage forward's impressive start to the season caught the attention of Eric Chelle, who initially named him in a 27-man squad for the tournament set to take place at the Valley in London.
But the youngster will now have to wait for his senior Nigeria debut after sustaining a thigh injury during AIK's 4-2 defeat to Djurgårdens IF on May 10.
The 18-year-old is currently undergoing rehabilitation and has been ruled out for the remainder of the spring season, including Sunday's clash against Hammarby IF and the final fixture before the World Cup break against IK Sirius.
Speaking on AIK's decision not to release the forward to the Nigeria Football Federation, Takkula revealed that the club held positive discussions with Yohanna, who understood the situation and remains fully focused on his recovery.
"It was a good and open conversation. The player was of course very happy about the invitation, but he understood the situation and did not take any risks," he told fotbollskanalen.
"He will complete the rehab as planned. That's how it was. The rehab has been positive and yesterday he did some individual things on the pitch. That's positive."
Before his injury setback, Zadok had enjoyed an impressive run of form, registering two goals and three assists in seven Allsvenskan appearances.
Ifeanyi Emmanuel
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