SSC Napoli of Italy striker, Victor Osimhen might end up withdrawing from the upcoming Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers against Benin Republic and Lesotho, as he is yet to get back into top match fitness, megasportsarena.com gathered.
the former VfL Wolfsburg of Germany, sporting Charleroi of Belgium and Lille Metropole of France striker coped a shoulder complaint the last time he played for Nigeria in November, following which he contracted coronavirus and they suffered a head injury in action for his club a fortnight ago, such that concern is already being harboured over his conditioning for the Eagles’ matches.
Palpable worry has also been expressed in this direction by one of his agents, Roberto Calenda, who sounded cagey yet cynical in his reaction to the youngster’s invitation to the Eagles’ camp for their AFCON 2022 qualifiers later this month.
Osimhen was Napoli’s marquee signing last summer, arriving for a club record fee of 70 million euros, and has scored 3 goals in 17 matches for the Partenopei, but he has been unavailable for selection in nineteen matches played by Napoli this season as a result of fitness issues.
He is Africa’s leading scorer in the qualifying race with four goals in three matches and is still highly-rated as crucial to Eagles’ coach, Gernot Rohr, despite suffering a dislocated shoulder in Nigeria’s match against Sierra Leone on November 13.
He missed the reverse fixture four days later in Freetown and the injury kept him on the sidelines for several weeks, before he tested positive for coronavirus after celebrating his 22nd birthday in Lagos and then suffered concussion against Atalanta to weekends ago.
Although Osimhen returned to goals scoring form against Bologna last Sunday, Calenda has stressed that the Super Eagles star needs more time to get back to his best as he was inactive for a long time.
Calenda told Radio Marte: “Victor was out 94 days in a row and then returned to Bergamo. I am the first to wish that he can do well but we always give time to time, these are important things. He was called up, then he will decide. Let’s hope you don’t have to worry more than anything else.
“Isn’t Osimhen a scorer? Time to time, then let’s have a chat with those who support him. He has been out for a long time and hasn’t trained together with the team for a long time. It takes time to group and connect. The work has to be done together.”
