The medical crew of Nigeria’s national team are bound to heave a sigh of relief that they might not have been responsible after all for the injury copped by SSC Napoli of Italy striker, Victor Osimhen last November in Benin City, megasportsarena.com reports.
The Chile 2015 FIFA U-17 World Cup top scorer suffered a shoulder dislocation in action against Benin Republic during an Africa Cup of Nations qualifier in Benin City, following which reports emerged that his club’s medics blamed the Super Eagles’ doctors for poor handling of the situation.
Although Osimhen rebutted media reports quoting his club’s medics in scolding the Eagles’ doctors, insinuations continued for a long while over allegations of negligence, as the striker ended up suffering a relapse and was eventually ruled out for several months.
However, almost a year after, a new angle has emerged in the tale, as Napoli’s former doctor, Alfonso De Nicola has concluded that the Naples-based side did not handle the treatment of Osimhen’s shoulder injury adequately.
While critics in the Nigerian media were wont to blame the Eagles’ medics for rough handling the dislocation, De Nicola questioned why the club’s management sent Osimhen and his strike partner, Dries Mertens to Belgium to receive further treatment.
The veteran physician posited that what he believes was poor handling of injuries by Napoli medics may have contributed to two other injuries copped by Osimhen in only his first season with the team and the club’s failure to qualify for the UEFA Champions League.
Osimhen ended up missing a total of 16 games in all competitions due to a combination of complications over the shoulder injury and then testing positive for coronavirus.
However, the Eagles’ medical crew has now been absolved of any negligence on all fronts in their handling of the former VFl Wolfsburg of Germany, Sporting Charleroi of Belgium and Lille Metropole of France striker’s recovery.
De Nicola said during Sport Show on Radio Marte: “I think of Dries Mertens and Victor Osimhen, who let themselves go to Belgium for treatment. It also happened when I was there, that the players went elsewhere in case of injury.
“I always sent a man of mine with them, so that he would report to me every evening the work done during the day. They will have worked very well in Belgium, but the result was terrible.
“If we had had just one more point, we would have been calm. Maybe I’m wrong, but there the mistake was in the management of the year, including in health management.
“We were unlucky, because they had ankle or shoulder problems at the same time. At that moment, we needed elements of that caliber.”
