Returning to Trabzonspor for his second spell at the beginning of the season, Anthony Nwakaeme has not been able to reach the desired performance due to injuries. The Nigerian player, who rejoined Trabzonspor this season, has been battling injuries and has not been as effective as expected in his second period.
In his first spell with the Black Sea team, Nwakaeme earned great admiration for his football over four seasons, scoring 47 goals in 145 official matches. However, in his second term, he has not been able to contribute.
Known for being Trabzonspor’s most consistent offensive player in the seasons he played, Nwakaeme won the hearts of fans with his goals, assists, and overall play. This season, however, he has yet to score a goal and has suffered two injuries, keeping him away from the field.
INJURY STATUS
Nwakaeme was first injured in the opening week of the league during the match against Net Global Sivasspor. The 35-year-old player was diagnosed with a muscle injury in his left leg, causing him to miss two UEFA Conference League matches against St. Gallen as well as league matches against ikas Eyupspor and Besiktas.
Nwakaeme returned to the field on September 19 in the match against Bellona Kayserispor but suffered another injury after playing in games against Gaziantep FK and TUMOSAN Konyaspor. He was not included in the squad for the match against Atakas Hatayspor on October 5. The Nigerian player is expected to be sidelined for an additional 2-3 weeks.
This season, Nwakaeme has appeared in 13 official matches for the Black Sea team, playing a total of 315 minutes in 8 of those games. He has yet to complete a full 90 minutes, with the 84 minutes he played in the match against TUMOSAN Konyaspor in week 7 being the longest he stayed on the field.
GOAL DROUGHT
In 13 matches this season, across both European and league competitions, Nwakaeme has not contributed any goals. The last time he scored for Trabzonspor was 875 days ago, on May 22, 2022, in the final week of the league during an away match against Basaksehir. In this period, he has made only one assist.
Aside from his assist in the Bellona Kayserispor match, Nwakaeme has not contributed to the team’s scoring.
OVERALL PERFORMANCE
Transferred from Israel’s Hapoel Beer Sheva for a fee of 1.1 million euros at the beginning of the 2018-2019 season, Nwakaeme scored 11 goals in 31 official matches in his first season. In 2019-2020, he netted 14 goals in 43 matches, 7 goals in 35 matches in 2020-2021, and 15 goals in 36 matches during the 2021-2022 season.
After transferring to Saudi Arabia’s Al-Fayha, the experienced striker returned to Trabzonspor at the beginning of this season after two years.
