Philippe Clement has stressed that Cyriel Dessers needs to work hard with a view of earning his place back in the Super Eagles.
The Rangers striker was snubbed by Austine Eguavoen, and missing in the 2025 AFCON roaster for the doubleheader clash against Libya Mediterranean Knights billed for Uyo on Friday and in Tripoli next week.
Clement sub Dessers off after an hour during Sunday’s 2-0 Premiership victory over St Johnstone, a decision that left the striker furious after seeing his number go up.
Clement stated: “He needs to work hard and it will come. He played a lot of club minutes in the last couple of weeks. It’s normal when you play every three days that you’re less fresh.
“That’s part of the story for every striker in the world. For a lot of teams, the strikers are changed after 60 minutes. I know some teams where it happens every week.
“He needs to work hard and continue doing that. He had a strong start to the season with a lot of goals and there will be more goals to come if he has the same mentality he had at the start of the season.”