Nigeria Content Online

Nigerian
forward, Obafemi Martins looks set to rejoin Russian club Rubin Kazan,
come the end of the season following an injury-ravaged campaign with
Birmingham.

The Nigerian
international joined the English Premier League outfit in January on
loan until the end of the season from the former Russian league
champions.

Although the former
Inter Milan striker didn’t make an immediate impact with the Blues, he
was to etch his way into the hearts of the club’s fans when he scored
the match-winning goal in their English League Cup final win over
Arsenal at Wembley.

But a spate of
injuries has limited the Nigerian’s appearances for Alex McLeish’s side
to just four starts before his Wembley heroics. And the Scotsman has
hinted that the club’s Wembley hero may have kicked his last ball for
Birmingham.

Martins underwent
surgery last Thursday to repair a stress fracture in his left leg, and
is expected to be sidelined for up to four months, by which time his
loan at St Andrew’s would have expired.

And McLeish has
revealed that making the Nigerian’s move to England permanent when the
transfer window reopens in July has not crossed his mind.

Shame

“It’s a shame for
Oba,” McLeish said in the build-up to Birmingham’s 1-1 draw against
Wolves. “He will probably never have to buy a drink in Birmingham
again, but he’s had a strange season.

“At Wolfsburg and
then Rubin, he never cemented a place. Coming to us, I think he was
looking for a bright new future but he was never quite right.

“I think he showed
flashes in the final, the goal and the time after it when he ran at
Arsenal’s back four and went round the keeper. He was at his best.

“But there were times when I thought ‘where’s the wee man’s explosive jumping power and pace?’.

“Eventually it was clear there were problems. When he went away with Nigeria a sore groin stopped him playing.

“When he came back he was complaining about his shin. It was the stress fracture, it crept up on him.

“What we do in the future with him? I’ve not really given it a thought,” he added.