Leon Balogun is keeping the lid on his international future beyond 2022 as a subtle question of his retirement surface.
Since his international debut in 2014, Leon Balogun has been one of Nigeria’s most reliable CBs and has gone on to earn 45 caps in that period.
He won Bronze at the 2019 AFCON and the previous year, he made his World Cup debut.
This year though, the 33 year-old missed the AFCON in Cameroon due to an injury and although he returned to action in time for the World Cup playoffs, Nigeria missed out to Ghana.
With the 2023 AFCON qualifiers about to get underway, Balogun is expected to play a major role in the Super Eagles, while he also has to sort out his club career.
With his contract at Scottish side, Rangers expiring at the end of the month, Balogun will seek to secure a new club before the 2022/23 season kicks off.
Last campaign, he featured 21 times in the league for Rangers – only once has he had more league appearances in his career – and spells on the sidelines with injury.
The rigors of club engagement may force the Vet to cut down on the amount of game time under his belt moving forward.
Asked if he will be available for more national team engagements in 2023 and in particular the AFCON, Balogun confirmed it’s uncertain.
“I cannot predict the future you know,” the 33 year-old CB answered. “I hope so, but I’m not going to make any promises.”
