Recall that Rohr dropped Mikel from his 24-man squad list that will battle the North Africans this weekend.
Mikel, who plays for Chinese club, Tianjin TEDA, has not played for his country since the summer’s 2018 FIFA World Cup, leading to speculation about his international future.
Ibitoye, however, said that Mikel has been “excused” from Eagles’ squad to face Libya because he needs time to recover from injury.
“Mikel has been excused because he is just recovering from injury in China and needs time to fully regain fitness,” Ibitoye told BBC Sport.
“We expect him to be available for the November game against South Africa.”
The Saturday game is scheduled for the Godswill Akpabio International Stadium in Uyo, the Akwa Ibom state capital.
The kick off time for the match is 4pm.
