Nigerian forward, Victor Osimhen, will not be available for selection when Napoli take on Cyriel Desser’s Cremonese in the matchday nine fixture of the Italian Serie A on Sunday (today), PUNCH Sports Extra reports.
Osimhen has been out of action since he sustained a hamstring injury in Napoli’s 4-1 victory over Liverpool in the Champions League last month and also caused him to miss the Super Eagles’ double friendly against Algeria.
The 23-year-old striker returned to individual training last week, and he was expected to be on the bench for Napoli’s clash at Ajax on Tuesday. Unfortunately, he was not considered fit for the game.
According to reports in Italy, Osimhen was set to be named in Napoli’s squad that will take on Cremonese at the Stadio Giovanni Zini.
However, according to Napoli head coach Luciano Spaletti, last season’s Serie A Young Player of the Year will remain on the sidelines yet longer for at leas one more round of rest.
“These are evaluations that are made after clinical examinations, after the analysis of the condition, we need to put all these components together. We want him available in the conditions of being a football player, in the level that he is, and so we decided to give him one more round of rest, he is not in condition yet,” Spaletti said.
“It is useless to take him on the bench tomorrow, better than today and tomorrow he trains hard.”
According to Napoli Magazine, Osimhen is very close to full recovery, but considering Giovanni Simeone and Giacomo Raspadori’s form, they are in no haste to throw the Nigerian striker into the thick of the action and risk further injury to their star man.
The statement read, “Napoli wants to give the player all the time needed to recover in the best possible way in view of the other league and Champions League challenges, given that there is certainly no shortage of alternatives.”
AreaNapoli have now reported that Osimhen’s next likely return date will be for the return fixture against Calvin Bassey’s Ajax in the Champions League.
The Partenopeans sit pretty atop the Serie A table, and they would look to continue their twelve-game unbeaten run at Cremona against a Dessers-led squad that have struggled for goals this season and would hope to avoid further misery against the rampant Napoli.
