Spalletti: ‘Osimhen could have been ruled out for the rest of the season’
Napoli gaffer, Luciano Spalletti says Victor Osimhen could have been ruled out for the rest of the season but for the club’s medics who insisted he must have a rest to fully get healed of the muscular injury he sustained during the international week with Nigeria.
Osimhen was expectedly not in action when Napoli bounced back from the humiliating 4-0 loss they suffered in the hands of AC Milan last week to beat Lecce 2-1 Friday evening.
The Nigerian has continued to reassure fans he will return and could even have featured on Friday, but Spalletti warns they have to hold back his enthusiasm.
“Osimhen wants to play every game, but there are situations that need to be evaluated carefully. He really did run the risk of hurting himself badly and being ruled out for the rest of the season, so the medics were right to make him take some time out.
“Now we need to see if with a little strong physical activity the pressure on the muscles grows and how he reacts, because so far he has only done some basic jogging.
“It does become difficult without him, because he has this way of running into space, this physicality, he can draw everyone to him and therefore create the space for his teammates.”
Napoli now needs the 24 year old to be fully fit and ready to play against AC Milan in the UEFA Champions League on Wednesday following the injury Giovanni Simeone suffered in the win at Lecce.
