Victor Osimhen: When Will His Time Come?

Victor Osimhen:  When Will His Time Come?

At the last edition of AFCON in Egypt, he was unhappy over lack of game time as he was told to wait for his time. With his current form, no coach would have denied Victor Osimhen of a first team place in the Super Eagles party to the biennial competition slated for Cameroon; but it was not to be after the striker was ruled out of the squad to the Central African country after an operation on his cheekbone

Speaking on a YouTube channel, former Manchester United striker,Victor Ighalo said: “I’m very happy and I’m proud of Victor, I do communicate with him every time, I keep encouraging him that he’s doing so well, he should keep being humble, keep working harder.

“He has not achieved anything yet because I know in two to three years’ time this guy will be playing in the Premier League and going to be the best scorer because I can see his hunger.

“Even when we were at AFCON (Egypt 2019) he was bit frustrated he was not playing, he’s not happy.
“I told him Victor, your time will come, I told him I’m leaving, you are the one that is going to take over this Number 9 shirt if you believe in yourself and you work hard, I can see your potential and I’m so happy and glad that he’s doing that. “

True to Ighalo’s prediction, Osimhen inherited the Number 9 shirt, but his dream of showcasing himself at the 2022 AFCON is now a mirage after his operation that has ruled him out for three months.
Super Eagles striker Osimhen picked up an injury in the Napoli’s clash against Inter Milan, which is set to rule him out of next year’s Africa Cup of Nations.

Nigeria have suffered a massive blow ahead of AFCON after it was confirmed that star Osimhen would miss the tournament in January.
Osimhen picked up two nasty injuries in Napoli’s Serie A encounter against Inter Milan last Sunday at the San Siro Stadium.

The 22-year-old’s collision with Inter defender Milan Skriniar left him with a swollen eye and cheekbone. Tests after the game revealed Osimhen suffered an orbital fracture and also broke his cheekbone, with Napoli confirming he would need surgery.

The former Lille star surgery took place on Tuesday morning, and it was successful. However, Napoli released a statement that he would miss three months of action, which effectively rules him out of AFCON.

Napoli’s statement read: Victor Osimhen was operated on this morning by Prof. Tartaro, assisted by Dr. Mario Santagata and in the presence of Dr. Canonical, for a reduction and restraint operation of multi-fragmentary and displaced fractures of the malar bone, of the zygomatic arch and pommel, of the floor and lateral wall of the orbit, and of the diastasis of the fronto-zygomatic suture.

The synthesis of the bone abutments was done with titanium plates and screws.
The player is fine and will remain under observation for a few days.
The prognosis is estimated to be around 90 days.
The news was a big blow for the Super Eagles, whose hopes of winning a fourth continental title rest on the shoulders of the former Lille star.

Osimhen has been Nigeria’s leading man since 2019. The 22-year-old has scored 10 goals in just 19 appearances for the three-time African champions.

National team assistant coach Joseph Yobo says the loss of Osimhen to injury is a massive blow for the Super Eagles’ 2021 Africa Cup of Nations aspirations.

Discussing what Osimhen’s absence means to Gernot Rohr’s squad at the biennial African football showpiece, the country’s assistant coach expressed his gloom about the development – considering the striker’s impact in the three-time African champions’ squad.

“It is shocking to hear that such an integral part of the national team is going to be missing the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations,” an unhappy Yobo told Goal.

“He is a big player, but his health is more important. It is a blow for the national team.
“Osimhen is a young lad who has a lot of potentials and is still developing. I had a chat with him recently and I reminded him of how great he could be. I wish him a speedy recovery.

“His talent is unmeasurable, his presence, his energy and what he brings to the team as a no. 9 is frightening,” he continued.

“Even when he is not playing well, having someone like him on the field makes the team better because of his energy. He gives everything on the pitch.
“In our last game against Cape Verde, he was everywhere. So, every manager would want a player like Osimhen in their team.

“Honestly, it is so sad that arguably the most in-form Nigerian player at the moment is injured and will be out of AFCON. It’s a blow for the national team, it’s a blow for his club and a blow for football fans.”
Football fans have taken to social media to express pessimism over Nigeria’s chances of a fourth African diadem in Cameroon.

Even at that, the former Everton and Fenerbahce defender remains upbeat that other players could step up and take the opportunity Osimhen’s injury presented.
“I can feel how bad the fans feel because Osimhen is a focal point of the national team going forward,” Yobo added.

“There are key positions you need to succeed, and a Number 9 and goal scorer is one.
“However, when you look at it from the other angle, Nigeria is blessed with so many players, but there is none like Osimhen.”

The Nigerian striker left quite an impression on the specialist who operated on the cheekbone and eye-socket injuries he sustained at the weekend.
Italian surgeon Gianpaolo Tartaro has revealed his admiration for Osimhen after meeting the Napoli forward during the surgical procedure done to correct the multiple fractures the youngster suffered to his face on Sunday.

Tartaro, a plastic and aesthetic surgeon, led the team of specialists who successfully operated on Osimhen on Monday.

The Italian doctor admitted he found a ‘special boy’ in Osimhen.
Tartaro revealed he told Osimhen that, even though the surgery done on the Nigerian striker was an unusual procedure, it was a success. The Italian Professor is convinced Osimhen is healthy enough to go on and win the league title.

“I also told Victor, a special boy, that it was not a normal operation,” Tartaro told Corriere dello Sport, as per TuttoNapoli.

“But it’s done and now I’m asking him to go and win the Scudetto.”
Professor Tartaro confirmed that it would be difficult for the Super Eagles star to participate in the continental championship as he would not train for at least two months.

Tartaro added: “A real training, with contact, (Osimhen) will not be able to do it for eight to nine weeks.
“It is impossible to think that he will go to the African Cup: his body and his face they came out distorted by the impact.”

Osimhen is Napoli’s leading goal scorer this term, with nine goals in 13 appearances in the Italian Serie A and Europa League combined.
The former Lille ace also topped the goal chart for Nigeria during the World Cup qualifying campaign with dour strikes.

Meanwhile, Tartaro has denied that he was forced by Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis to indicate a prognosis of 90 days in order to stop Osimhen from representing Nigeria at the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations.
Before the operation took place, medical experts including Tartaro, had suggested that Osimhen would return to full training by mid-December, few weeks before he was due to report to a training camp with the Nigeria squad ahead of the AFCON.

Tartaro has denied that a WhatsApp audio circulating in which the voice of the person is heard introducing himself as the specialist did not originate from him.

In the alleged fake audio, the person claiming to be Tartaro revealed that Napoli chief Laurentiis made a specific request for Osimhen to be ruled out for 90 days.
“So now we will say that he is out for 90 days. Surely, he will be able to play the first match in January with the mask, it will not be easy.”

Reacting to the voice audio, Tartaro was quoted as saying by FanPage: “I don’t know how to say it’s not me. In that audio some things are said extremely precise, others wrong. I’m a surgeon, I find it absurd. It’s pure madness.

“In the operating room there was a great coming and going of people and at the end of the surgery I talked about some technical things. I am very sorry “I repeat, it’s not me. I’m not interested in saying this, I’d just lose out.”

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