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Johnny Edward
Nigeria international, Victor Osimhen, will miss at least three weeks of action after he was diagnosed with a grade two biceps femoris strain on Friday, PUNCH Sports Extra reports.
Osimhen made an early exit in Napoli’s 4-1 win against Liverpool on Wednesday in a UEFA Champions League game.
“It’s an important region of the muscle,” Doctor Marcello Manzuoli told Tuttomercatoweb.
“In this case, the recovery time hinges on the severity. There are 10/15 days between each degree, which is significant.
“On average, the second tier requires more than a month to resume practicing with the team, not necessarily play in matches.
The former Lille striker will miss Napoli’s next five games against Spezia, Glasgow Rangers, AC Milan, Torino and Ajax.
The 23-year-old striker will also miss Nigeria’s international friendly against Algeria billed for Oran on September 27.
Since joining Napoli for €80m in September 2020, the 23-year-old has had a dreadful injury record, missing what will be 40 matches by the time this latest lay-off is complete.
Many of these have been unavoidable traumatic injuries, as he dislocated his shoulder in November 2020 while playing for Nigeria against Sierra Leone, then hit the back of his head during a Serie A match against Atalanta and was briefly knocked unconscious, ruled out for three games.
The worst was the clash of heads with Inter defender Milan Skriniar in November 2021, leaving him with multiple facial fractures, requiring metal plaques and 18 screws to hold it all together.
That kept Osimhen on the sidelines for almost a full three months.
This is not taking into account the two different times he contracted COVID-19 while on vacation in Nigeria, and a few muscular strains.
The Nigerian has scored two goals and provided an assist in five Serie A matches so far this season.
Since signing for the Serie A club from Lille, Osimhen has always been a key figure in Spalletti’s squad.
Last season, he ended the campaign with 14 goals in 27 league games despite having been sidelined on a number of occasions by injuries.