The Super Eagles have been handed a welcome boost as defender Kenneth Omeruo trained fully with the rest of the squad at the Estadio Brinco De Ouro da Princesa in Campinas.
He looks set to start as the Super Eagles face Iran in their Group F opener in Curitiba on Monday night.
Omeruo suffered a heavy knock on his ankle after a training ground tangle with Chelsea team-mate Victor Moses and had to sit out Nigeria’s final warm-up game, a 2-1 defeat to the USA in Florida.
“It was just a precautionary measure,” said team media officer Ben Alaiya, “His injury is a minor one. He will be fit.”
Omeruo has made 17 appearances for Nigeria since his debut in January 2013 in a friendly against Cape Verde.
He excelled in the victorious African Cup of Nations campaign.
And he has experience of Brazil after playing there in last year’s Confederations Cup.
“It was a great experience”’ Omeruo said.
“Despite some unrest in the cities at the time, people came out to support, even if Brazil weren’t playing.
“There were great atmospheres and good facilities.
“I only had 10 minutes against Spain because I was injured, but it wasn’t a bad performance even though we lost 3-0. It was individual mistakes, and with a bit of work we can be more competitive.’