Femi Solaja
With less than 45 days to the kick off of the 33rd Africa Cup of Nations
(AFCON) tournament in Cameroon next February, the certainty of Super Eagles’ in-form striker, Victor Osimhen playing for Nigeria at the biennial event is now in doubt following reports of the cheekbone injury he sustained last Sunday in Napoli’s defeat at Inter Milan.
The Nigerian goal poacher, laboured in vain as Napoli suffered their first defeat of the season in the 3-1 away loss. Osimhen was substituted in the 55th minute after he got injured in the collision with Inter Milan’s Skriniar.
But Napoli in a statement yesterday said Osimhen may be out for up to six weeks depending on how he recovers fast from the surgery expected to be carried out any moment.
“The instrumental tests carried out on Victor Osimhen at the ed of the Inter-Napoli match revealed displaced fractures of the orbit and of the left cheekbone,” said in the club’s official website.
“The player will undergo surgery in the next few days and will remain under observation at the Niguarda Hospital in Milan,” the statement further said.
Napoli Manager, Luciano Spalletti in an interview with Football Italiaalso confirmed that the player is likely to stay a longer time off the game because the medical team will want to put him under close observation and the technical crew will not be in a rush to return the Nigerian star back into the mix.
“He has been taken to hospital for test and there are fears he might have fractured his cheekbone. He is a hard working player but the way he threw himself in the air may have aggravated the impact. All the same we are with him. If he chases everyone, we have to adjust to chase him and it becomes a constant sprint to keep the team tight.
“He has a swollen eye and could not see very well, so he need tests. The swelling went up around his eye and hope it is a bruise. I hope,” the coach further observed.
Osimhen so far has scored five goals for the club and is the leading scorer for the national team since AFCON 2019 tournament where he placed only one match when he substituted returnee, Odion Ighalo in the second half of the classification match against Tunisia.
However, with Oghenekaro Etebo still recuperating after injury playing for Watford two months ago, the depth of the Super Eagles would be greatly affected should Osimhen be ruled out of the tournament January 9 in Cameroon where Nigeria will play against Egypt, Sudan and Guinea Bissau.
