Former Super Eagles goalkeeper Carl Ikeme beats cancer, takes part in first training session in five years

Carl Ikeme has been given the all-clear after his recovery from Leukaemia following a five-year battle. The former Super Eagles first-choice goalkeeper was invited by boyhood club Wolverhampton Wanderers to take part in the first-team training.

Carl Ikeme was made Nigeria’s first-choice goalkeeper following the retirement of Vincent Enyeama, and the Wolves man settled into the role brilliantly for the national team. His career with the Super Eagles was quite short, as he made only 10 national team appearances, keeping clean sheets in seven of them. He ended his professional career abruptly in 2018 after he revealed that he had been battling with cancer of the blood over a 12-month period, and he decided to hang up his gloves.

It was announced a short while later that the respected goalkeeper would be offered training by NFF and an offer to become the Super Eagles goalkeeper coach would be forwarded afterwards.

Now 35 years old, Carl Ikeme has finally beaten cancer and has been certified as healthy once more. It was on this note that Wolverhampton Wanderers invited him to join in their first-team training as a mark of respect for his service to the club where he spent 18 years of his life.

It was an emotional return for the former Super Eagles goaltender as he participated in his first training session for Wolves in nearly five years.

Carl Ikeme then went on a tour of the beautiful and pristine Compton Park training ground of the team and met old friends and new faces in the team. It is unclear at the moment whether the goalkeeper plans on returning to the game in some capacity, but seeing him back on the grass was fulfilling for Wolves and Super Eagles fans alike.