Lille Metropole of France striker, Victor Osimhen is bound to miss the first lap of pre-season matches with his club, following his late return to his base, after burying his father in Lagos, megasportsarena.com reports.
Frantic efforts were on at the weekend to get another charter plane to fly Osimhen back to France, just as Lille had done in getting him to Nigeria in the first place, but the continued closure of airports and government bureaucracy meant a longer span of delays for him.
The former VfL Wolfsburg of Germany and Sporting Charleroi of Belgium lad had earlier been granted compassionate leave to attend the burial of his father, which eventually held last Thursday, and he was expected to return to France same week but he was stranded in Nigeria because the airports remained closed, to prevent further spread of coronavirus.
In his absence, Lille have already lined up friendlies against Royal Excel Mouscron and Club Brugge of Belgium as part of their preparations for next season, but Osimhen could end up missing both games if the club’s efforts to get him out of Nigeria within the next 24 hours fail.
Osimhen, though, could be in line for Lille’s next line of build-up matches, as the club are also in talks with two other Belgian clubs, KV Kortrijk and RSC Anderlecht, for clashes on July 31st and August 1st respectively, which could be the start of his own pre-season preparations.
A report by Sport Business Magazine added that Lille are prepared to send another private jet to lift Osimhen out Lagos, but they are yet to receive landing approval from Nigeria’s ministry of aviation, which imposed stricter terms of clearance for plans, after a mistake allowed hip-hop artiste, Nayra Marley fly into Abuja for a controversial concert earlier this month..
Osimhen’s predicament was highlighted by Lille’s coach, Christophe Galtier, who expatiated: “He did not come back from Nigeria. He had to arrive today (Friday). But he is blocked by the health crisis because the borders are closed.”
