Nantes manager shocked by ‘small but mighty’ forward’s glittering Ligue 1 start

Nantes coach Antoine Kombouaré has challenged forward Moses Simon to reaffirm his importance to the team as the new season unfolds.

The 29-year-old opened his account for the season, netting his first goal in Nantes’ commanding 2-0 win over Auxerre in the French Ligue 1 on Sunday.

Simon missed the latter part of last season after fracturing his fibula in March. The injury occurred while he was on international duty with Nigeria, where he was stretched off in tears during a 2-0 friendly loss to Mali.

He made a comeback in July, featuring in all five of Nantes’ preseason fixtures and making a notable contribution with two goals.

Kombouaré praises Moses Simon: He could not play without pain

Despite a challenging preseason, Kombouaré is confident that the Jos-born player can reaffirm his value to the team.

“He gives strength, energy to his friends when he is on the pitch. He knows how to speak out, because he is small but he has a lot of character, he does not let people walk all over him,” the former Paris Saint-Germain manager stated.

“You have a team with Simon and without Simon, but he has to prove it again this season. What he did in previous seasons was good, he made himself indispensable at times, he made himself important, but we have to reset the counters to zero.

“We must not forget that Simon had a very complicated preparation. (…) We were not far from thinking that he was not going to start the season. He was never able to play all his friendly matches without pain. And then I don’t know what happened, but three days before the match he started to feel good.”

Last season, Moses Simon scored three goals and provided five assists in 22 Ligue 1 matches.