Nigeria have made a heartwarming gesture to Wolverhampton Wanderers goalkeeper Carl Ikeme by calling him up as the 24th player in their World Cup squad.

The stopper, who has not played a game this season due to his ongoing treatment for acute leukaemia, has been registered as an extra player for the Super Eagles by head coach Gernot Rohr.

"Carl Ikeme will be our 24th player to the World Cup," BirminghamLive quotes Rohr as saying.

Unregistered players are a tradition of the Nigeria national team, with the honourary position having gone to stars including Tijani Babangida and Peter Odemwingie in the past.

Nigeria, who face England in a friendly international this weekend, will take on Croatia, Iceland and Argentina in the group stage of the World Cup.