Soccer-Ighalo out for Nigeria after club refuse call-up

FILE PHOTO: Soccer Football - Africa Cup of Nations 2019 - Third Place Play Off - Tunisia v Nigeria - Al Salam Stadium, Cairo, Egypt - July 17, 2019 Nigeria's Odion Ighalo celebrates scoring their first goal REUTERS/Sumaya Hisham

(Reuters) - Nigeria striker Odion Ighalo will not play for his country at the Africa Cup of Nations in Cameroon after his Saudi Arabian club refused to let him go, officials confirmed on Thursday.

Riyadh-based Al Shabab said his call-up from the Nigerian Football Federation had arrived after the deadline and they were therefore refusing to let him go, the Al Arabiya television channel reported.