Super Eagles striker Paul Onuachu will miss Trabzonspor’s Conference League game against Hearts on Thursday. Coach Thomas Reis says he could return for the league match against Rizespor on Monday.
Want our football coverage to show up first?
Add FootballInNigeria as a preferred source and our stories get a "Preferred" badge in your Google Top Stories, AI Overviews, and AI Mode results.
Super Eagles striker Paul Onuachu will miss Trabzonspor’s UEFA Conference League game against Heart of Midlothian on Thursday, with coach Thomas Reis confirming that the forward is not yet ready to return.
The match is at Papara Park in Trabzon, with kickoff at 5:45pm Nigerian time. It is Trabzonspor’s second league-phase game, after a 4-2 win at KuPS on matchday one. Fans following Nigerian players in Europe can read Bet9ja promotion code short guide.
Onuachu picked up the injury in that win at KuPS last Thursday. He opened the scoring after just three minutes, but he was forced off in the 10th minute.
He then missed Monday’s 2-0 win over Besiktas, with Franculino leading the line. Franculino had scored twice at KuPS after replacing Onuachu.
Reis said Thursday would come too early for Onuachu. “Maybe the Rizespor match,” he said of a possible comeback, which would be on Monday, October 26. New Bet9ja users can claim Bet9ja’s YOHAIG intro offer.
Reis added that if Onuachu is not ready for Rizespor, he will be back for the next game. Reports say that would be the league game against Gaziantep on November 1.
Reis also explained that Trabzonspor keep separate player lists for Europe and the league, and said he would pick the starting XI after the final training session. Okay Yokuslu, Arseniy Batagov, Onuralp Cevikkan and Ruslan Malinovskyi are also out injured.
The timing is awkward for Onuachu, who has been a vital outlet this season with three goals in 11 appearances, eight of them starts. Trabzonspor have won all four games under Reis, scoring 13 goals and conceding twice.
Hearts arrive after a 7-1 defeat at Celtic on Sunday, so Trabzonspor will be heavy favourites even without their Nigerian striker. Readers curious about betting terms can see how to get a Bet9ja promotion code.
📌 Did You Know?
- Onuachu finished the 2025/26 Super Lig as joint top scorer with 22 goals.
- Premium Times reported that Onuachu fired Trabzonspor to Turkish Cup glory over Konyaspor.
- Huseyin Cimsir was interim coach before Reis was appointed permanently, recording a 5-0 win and a 1-0 defeat.
- It is the first competitive European meeting between Trabzonspor and Hearts.
- One of Reis’s four wins was a 4-0 victory over Galatasaray.
- Mohamed Salah has scored nine goals in 11 appearances for Trabzonspor.
