Newcastle boss Roeder: Martins won’t play for Nigeria

He said: “It is only a friendly and Nigeria cannot insist on Oba playing, and because he has had so much football this season, I will be asking him not to play against Ghana.

“He has already played nearly 30 games for us – he has probably played more matches this season than at any time in his career.

“He is a great lad and I am sure he will understand the situation because we are a bit thin on the ground for strikers and we do not want the risk of losing him.”