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Nigeria's Carl Ikeme issues leukaemia update

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Nigeria and Wolverhampton Wanderers goalkeeper Carl Ikeme has issued a health update on social media and revealed that he's in complete remission after being diagnosed with leukaemia in July 2017.

The stopper, who missed the entirety of Wolves' Premier League promotion campaign and the chance to represent Nigeria at the ongoing World Cup, is now looking forward after the disease took a year out of his career.

"After a year of intense chemotherapy, I would like to share that I am in complete remission," the 32-year-old wrote on his @Carl_Ikeme handle. "I still have hurdles to pass to be cured, but hopefully I can move on with some normality.

"I would like to thank everyone for their support over the past year. Thank you."

Various tributes have been paid to Ikeme during the World Cup, as the stopper would likely have been Nigeria's No. 1 had it not been for his illness.

In his stead, 19-year-old Francis Uzoho has been introduced to the side, with Nigeria losing their opener 2-0 to Croatia before beating Iceland by the same scoreline in Volgograd on Friday.

The Iceland national team were among those who paid a heartwarming tribute to Ikeme, with forward Jon Dadi Bodvarsson posting on Twitter that the team were with the goalkeeper.

Ikeme joined Wolves in 2003 and has made over 200 appearances for the Old Gold.