Coventry City manager, Frank Lampard has confirmed that Nigerian international ,Taiwo Awoniyi is available for selection ahead of the trip to the English capital to face Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League.
Referee Tony Harrington sent off Awoniyi after the forward struck Brighton defender Maxim De Cuyper in the face with a raised elbow during an aerial challenge in their Premier League match on September 13.
The Super Eagles forward was unavailable for two consecutive fixtures against Aston Villa and Nottingham Forest after being suspended for violent conduct.
Lampard now faces a selection headache ahead of the Tottenham encounter: whether to reinstate Awoniyi in the starting lineup or maintain confidence in Sidiki Cherif, who delivered an impressive performance against Newcastle United last weekend.
The former Chelsea midfielder told the media on Thursday, ahead of the game at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium:
“If you want to try and do well in this league or stay in this league and progress in this league, you have to be able to have strikers that can do the all-round striker job but also score your goals.
“You need, with the rigours of this league, to push each other, back each other and be there. There’s nothing better. Taiwo has missed his three games; he’s back in. We bought him for a reason. I think he was doing pretty well before the red card and missing the games.”
Coventry City have reversed their poor run of form during Awoniyi’s absence, securing consecutive Premier League victories after losing each of their first four matches.
EPL: ‘He’s back, doing pretty well’ – Frank Lampard on Super Eagles star