Barely six months ago, Benjamin Fredrick was a virtual unknown to the overwhelming majority of Nigeria football fans, and certainly was not even in the reckoning for a Super Eagles place.
But now, with just about a week until Nigeria get their Africa Cup of Nations campaign underway, Fredrick is the biggest absence on the Nigeria roster after suffering a knee injury in training with club Dender that will keep him out until the new year.
Add that to the retirement of captain and 2023 AFCON MVP William Troost-Ekong, and it seems like Super Eagles coach Eric Chelle will need to rethink his entire defensive strategy within an abbreviated window of time.
The 20-year-old's excellent displays, both at centreback and right back, had led to restricted minutes for Troost-Ekong, and may have somewhat accelerated the veteran defender's retirement announcement.
That announcement was not expected to be much of an issue, until Fredrick himself was ruled out with that unfortunate injury, meaning Chelle lost two key pieces of his defensive unit within weeks of each other.
Those losses, Fredrick's especially, has opened the door to Blackburn Rovers' Ryan Alebiosu, who could be in line to make his international debut as a result. It also possibly opened an opportunity for the recall of Chidozie Awaziem, who might not otherwise have got another look.
But Fredrick, who has been tried and tested, remains a major loss for the Super Eagles and his absence could well be a factor for how the Super Eagles perform at AFCON.
Back in 2023, Jose Peseiro built a Super Eagles team that was heavily reliant on their defensive strength and discipline. Troost-Ekong was the anchor and leader of that unit, as they went through all the way to the semifinal, conceding just two goals in their six matches, and keeping the most clean sheets of all the sides at the tournament.
This is in sharp contrast to their 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifying run, where they conceded in almost every game. It took until their fifth game, halfway through the series, to keep a clean sheet in a 2-0 win over Rwanda.
And then they were back at it again, conceding in the very next game at home to Zimbabwe as they continued to pile up the bad results that would ultimately cost them the qualification ticket.
All of that changed when Fredrick made his debut in the return fixture against Rwanda. Chelle named him as a shock starter in place of Troost-Ekong, and even though the decision resulted in a win and a clean sheet for the Super Eagles, both coach and dropped captain were faced with a barrage of questions in the post-game interview.
"This is my choice," the coach said with some defiance. "I do not need to explain. My job is to make decisions. Winning proves the decision was good. If I fix something, it is based on my heart and analysis. My technical staff and I evaluate players carefully before deciding."
Troost-Ekong agreed with the coach that the decision was justified: "The focus shouldn't be on me, on why I didn't start. I think we should say a big congratulations to Benjamin.
"He played an amazing game. To come into a match that carried so much pressure at his age is not an easy thing, and he handled it really well."
Such has been his influence at the back that in the six games the youngster played for Nigeria in World Cup qualifying, the Super Eagles have not lost a single one. They have won four and drawn two. That is not including the Unity Cup Final triumph against Jamaica where he made his debut.
His masterful containment of the dangerous Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang in the World Cup playoff against Gabon made for pleasant, even excitable viewing. And he was instrumental in keeping the DR Congo forwards quiet for most of that contest, too.
Colin Udoh reacts to Nigeria's failure to secure a World Cup playoff spot after a penalty shootout defeat at the hands of DR Congo.
Those performances bred confidence in the squad, providing the foundation for more adventurous displays upfront, as the youngster's pace and strength, despite his wily frame, meant he could stay comfortably in stride with the quickest of forwards and also hang and scrap with the most physical of them.
Fredrick's versatility also meant Chelle would have had flexibility in his deployment of personnel at the back, as he could play as centreback in partnership with Calvin Bassey, or could be deployed as a right back, either as a starter or cover for Bright Osayi-Samuel.
Barring any further injuries, Chelle's starting defensive unit will now likely be Zaidu Sanusi at left back, Bassey and Semi Ajayi at centreback and Osayi-Samuel as right back, although Alebiosu has a chance to make a play for that starting right back position, while Ogbu can also challenge Ajayi for the centreback role.
With Fredrick in the squad, the unit would probably have been set in stone, with Zaidu, Calvin, Ajayi and Fredrick.
But it is not just on the field that Nigeria will miss the Brentford defender. The 20-year-old was poised to make history in a unique storyline with forward Moses Simon. Both would have been the first academy owner, academy player duo to play together at the Nations Cup, after doing the same already at the Unity Cup and in qualifying.
Simon, who plays for Paris FC, runs the Simoiben Academy, which discovered, developed and mentored Fredrick, and he told ESPN how it felt to play alongside his mentee.
"It is very emotional for me," Simon said. "It is an unbelievable big dream to play with the young one you helped to the top. The feeling is something else. It is like a father and son playing alongside each other.
"It is a thing of joy for me. I'm proud of myself, I'm proud of what I'm doing and I'm proud of the people around that encourage me and assist me also. But I am sad that he will not be here. Not because I just want us to play together, but because he will help us if he was here."
Troost-Ekong says Simon deserves praise for discovering such an amazing talent : "Credit to him for his work and to my teammate, Moses Simon, for giving him the opportunity at his academy before he went to Brentford. It's things that we love to see."
He added that the young defender has a bright future ahead, telling NFF TV: "Benjamin is a humble, hardworking and very talented defender.
"I think we are all impressed with what he showed us in the Unity Cup. To win the Unity Cup and come in at the last minute to play so well is not easy at all.
"It's an amazing story and I'm looking forward to seeing him continue his development and become important for the team."
Sadly, that will not be at this AFCON.
