THE likelihood of Aiyegbeni Yakubu disappearing for more than a month increased last night when Nigeria coach Austin Eguavoen revealed the Middlesbrough striker had a "50-50 chance" of being selected for the African Nations Cup.

Eguavoen is expected to name his 24-man squad for the competition next week after completing a scouting tour of Europe.

That tour brought him to England but, while the Nigerian boss met Bolton midfielder Jay-Jay Okocha, he did not visit Teesside.

The pair have had their differences in the past and, when Yakubu was left out of the side that lost 3-0 to Romania last month, most African observers felt his chances of appearing in next year's finals in Egypt had gone.

Boro officials have privately been dreading the prospect of the 23-year-old being selected for the tournament as it would mean him missing more than a month of the domestic programme.

The African Nations Cup runs from January 20 to February 10, but national teams are able to demand the release of a player a week before it begins.

That could yet be the case with Yakubu, as leading Nigerian football journalist, Colin Udoh, has revealed that Eguavoen is warming to the idea of including the Boro striker in his squad.

"The Nigeria coach returned from Europe on Monday night," said Udoh, who writes for the African football magazine, Kick Off. "He will spend the rest of this week weighing up his options and he will name his squad after the weekend.

"I spoke to him (yesterday) and asked about the possibility of Yakubu making that squad.

"He told me he had tried to speak to Yakubu last week but wasn't able to get in touch with him while he was over in Europe. He knows what he is capable of and knows he has been in good form for Middlesbrough.

"He hasn't made the last few squads and that will obviously go against him but, at the minute, the coach seems to think he has a 50-50 chance of playing in the cup."

Yakubu has been a revelation since leaving Portsmouth in the summer. The striker has bagged eight goals in his last 11 Premiership games and, with Boro certain to be playing crucial league and cup matches at the start of next year, any absence would be a major blow to the club's hopes.

He currently has 15 international caps and, despite his employer's fears, would love to add to that tally in a competition that pits Nigeria against Ghana, Senegal and Zimbabwe in the initial group phase.

"I didn't make the squad for the last game against Romania and that was a disappointment to me," said Yakubu. "But I am definitely hoping to be involved for the African Nations Cup.

"I know it means missing a lot of football for Middlesbrough, but playing for your country is important and, in Africa, the African Nations Cup is massive.

"I would love to play in it for my country. When I was growing up as a child in Nigeria, I always wanted to play for my national team.

"Every player wants to play for their country - you only have to look at what has happened to Mark Schwarzer and Mark Viduka this year to see how much international football can mean.

"If they call me up it will be brilliant - if they don't, I will concentrate on doing everything I can to help Middlesbrough."