SSC Napoli of Italy striker, Victor Osimhen will not get his much-awaited comeback from injury in this Thursday’s UEFA Europa League clash against AZ Alkmaar of Holland, as medics at his Italian Serie A club insist he needs more time to fully recover from a shoulder injury he copped in action with the Super Eagles.
Megasportsarena.com gathered that, although Napoli’s coach, Gennaro Gattuso had hinted at the stat of the week that he would be willing to line out Osimhen for the second-tier continental cup fixture, he has agreed not to push the Chile 2015 FIFA U-17 World Cup gold medalist and top scorer too fast.
Consequently, Osimhen will be rested for Thursday’s outing against the Dutch Eredivisie side, as the former VfL Wolfsburg of Germany, Sporting Charleroi of Belgium and Lille Metropole of France youngster is still undergoing rehabilitation after sustaining a shoulder dislocation he suffered against Sierra Leone on November 13.
Osimhen was forced off the field in the 78th minute of the Africa Cup of Nations qualifier at Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium in Benin City, and he now missed four straight matches for his Naples-based side, including one already in the Europa League.
He is now set to miss his second straight continental tie, which would have been his comeback after sitting out one on account of a red card suspension, but his attempts to recover for the matchday five fixture have turned out to be unsuccessful.
Osimhen was not named in the roster, as Gattuso selected 20 players for the trip to Holland, with the club’s most expensive signing ever not part of the squad, as he continued with his recovery therapies and individual work on the field, after which he spent some time in the gym.
The 21-year-old Osimhen has already missed games against AC Milan and AS Roma in Serie A as well as versus Rijeka of Croatia in Europe, but Napoli’s doctors stressed that they will not rush him back to action, so that he will not suffer a relapse.
An update in Napoli’s official website read: “Gennaro Gattuso’s squad trained on pitches one and two on Wednesday morning. After a warm-up in the gym, the team worked on tactics and set pieces. Victor Osimhen underwent treatment and trained separately, both on the pitch and in the gym.
“Amir Rrahmani tested negative for Covid-19 and underwent tests at the Pineta Grande clinic with Dr Elpidio Pezzella and with the support of Dr Di Paco from the San Russore treatment centre in Pisa. He will resume training tomorrow.”
