Victor Osimhen May Miss Nigeria’s World Cup Qualifiers In November

Super Eagles and Napoli striker, Victor Osimhen will likely not play in November’s World Cup qualifying matches against Lesotho and Zimbabwe due to fitness issues.

On November 17, at the Godswill Akpabio stadium in Uyo, the three-time African champions will host the Lesotho Crocodiles before traveling to play Zimbabwe four days later. These two games could go down without Victor Osimhen.

Recall that during the friendly game between the Super Eagles of Nigeria and Saudi Arabia which ended in a 2-2 draw on Friday, October 13, Victor Osimhen had to limp off the pitch in the 56th minute.

After returning to Naples, further examinations revealed that he had a medium-grade biceps femoris lesion in his right thigh.

The 24-year-old has reportedly started getting treatment at the SSCN Konami Training Center. It’s expected that Osimhen won’t play in at least three of Napoli’s upcoming matches.

Sky Sport Italia reports that this type of injury typically takes four to six weeks to recover from, which raises questions about his availability.

Osimhen is expected to miss Napoli’s upcoming Serie A games against Hellas Verona, a Champions League trip to Union Berlin, as well as the weekend matchup with AC Milan.

The 2022–2023 Serie A top goalscorer award (Capocannoniere) winner, helped Napoli win the Serie A title for the first time in 33 years last season with 26 goals in 32 league games, earning him a reputation as one of Europe’s most exciting strikers.

Osimhen’s outstanding performance, which he has carried over into this season with six goals in 11 games, has led Napoli to peg his transfer value at about £120 million. His contract with the club will expire on June 30, 2023.