Napoli president, Aurelio De Laurentiis has ruled out Victor Osimhen from their Champions League trip to AC Milan on Wednesday in a massive blow to the Partenopei.
The striker has not played for the runaway Serie A leaders since the recent international break due to an abductor muscle injury sustained while on duty for Nigeria during the Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers.
In their first match without him, Napoli were thrashed 4-0 at home by Milan in the league on April 2, before bouncing back with a 2-1 win over Lecce on Friday.
It was hoped he would be fit in time for the Champions League quarter-final first leg against the Rossoneri, with Napoli in unfamiliar territory so deep into the competition.
But now it seems the club will have to wait for the second leg of the tie next Tuesday for his return.
“Victor is not in a position to play, unfortunately,” De Laurentiis is quoted as saying by La Repubblica.
“We hope to have him back as soon as possible on the 18th at the (Stadio Diego Armando) Maradona.”
Osimhen has been a huge factor in Napoli’s remarkable charge at the top of the Serie A table, with Luciano Spalletti’s men closing in on a first Scudetto since 1990.
Napoli are 16 points clear at the summit with nine matches left, and they are into the Champions League quarter-finals for the first time ever.
The Serie A top scorer has scored 25 times across all competitions, with none of those goals coming from the penalty spot.
Among players from the top five leagues, only Erling Haaland (38), Kylian Mbappe (28), Marcus Rashford (27) and Robert Lewandowski (26) have netted more non-penalty goals than the Super Eagles talisman.
Credit: punchng.com
