Enyimba midfielder Eze Ekwutoziam has alleged that he personally funded his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) surgery after suffering a career-threatening injury in training, claiming the club only offered to “loan” him the sum and recoup it from his monthly salary.
Ekwutoziam made the revelation while speaking on Naija Made’s social media platform, where he recounted how he was left to shoulder the financial burden of a major knee surgery despite picking up the injury during an Enyimba training session. According to the promising young midfielder, he had to borrow around ₦1 million to undergo the procedure after being told by the club hierarchy that any assistance would come as a loan to be deducted from his wages.
He specifically referenced club chairman and Nigeria legend Kanu Nwankwo in his account, alleging that the only option presented to him was a repayable loan. “Our Chairman, Kanu Nwankwo said they can loan me the money I paid for my ACL surgery but will be deducting it from my monthly salary, I refused,” Ekwutoziam was quoted as saying. The player insisted he rejected the offer, arguing that an injury sustained in the line of duty should be fully covered by the club.
The development has reignited conversations around player welfare in the Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL), where stories of footballers struggling with medical bills and unpaid entitlements remain common despite recent efforts to improve standards. While the NPFL Club Owners’ Forum has approved life and injury insurance schemes for players and officials, implementation and enforcement across clubs have continued to draw criticism from stakeholders.
Ekwutoziam’s ordeal has been widely shared on social media, with many fans describing it as another “sad reality of NPFL” and calling for stronger regulations to ensure injured players are not abandoned at their most vulnerable moments.
