Osimhen Set to Return against AC Milan in Champions League

Super Eagles attacker, Victor Osimhen has expressed his desire to star in the UEFA Champion League first leg against AC Milan after he suffered an injury during Nigeria’s doubleheader play against Guinea-Bissau which made him miss Napoli’s last two Serie A matches.

Osimhen had expressed a wish to travel with the Napoli team for their encounter against US Lecce, but was not named for the matchday 29 encounter which his team won 2-1.

The 24-year-old was omitted from the Serie A league match between AC Milan and the Parthenopeans at the Diego Maradona Stadium, which Milan won 4-nil. The Nigerian star suffered an injury during the Super Eagles’ doubleheader play against Guinea-Bissau in their Africa Cup of Nations qualifying game.

According to reports from Tutto Napoli, the Nigerian star was keen to accelerate his return to action by travelling with the club to play Lecce in order to inspire his side to win.

The vital San Siro match against Milan is set for the following week. Therefore, the Parthenopeans would want to be cautious and wait to examine the number 9’s physical state in order to decide the margins of recovery.

Exams will be conducted on the Nigerian before it is determined whether to send him to Milan or keep him at home.

Meanwhile, Osimhen gives Gennaro Gattuso and Luciano Spalletti credit for his development as a player.

The Nigerian international claims that his drive and self-esteem have greatly improved due to Gattuso’s support, and he accepts that his development has been accelerated by the work completed over the last month under the direction of his new boss.

The Nigerian was lured to the Diego Maradona stadium in the 2020 summer window by Gattuso who declared that he had “been following…” Osimhen “for some time”.

However, the Super Eagles talisman revealed in a long interview with France Football that he owed the former Napoli boss for helping his development during his time in Naples.

“I owe a lot to Gennaro Gattuso because he worked on my motivation and on enhancing my self-esteem, but with Spalletti, my growth has been greater due to work done over the months,” he said, as cited by Tutto Napoli.

Osimhen said the current Napoli manager, Spalletti, who replaced Gattuso, has assisted in developing him into a stronger striker.

“Spalletti has always asked me to be explosive, to be like dynamite for the opposing defences. An assessment was made on my running, the distances I have to keep from defenders and how I have to react to assists. There are five meters that I can cover faster than the others, and I have to stay within that distance”. he added.

The Nigerian may play for Napoli to help them revenge their earlier loss in Wednesday’s Champions League match if he is cleared to play after initially stating he is good.

Despite their heartbreaking loss to AC Milan, the Neapolitans are still the favourites to defeat Milan when they go to San Siro on Wednesday.