Galatasaray boss Okan Buruk has revealed that Super Eagles striker Victor Osimhen is yet to fully recover from his ankle injury, casting shadows over the Nigerian’s potential availability for the Lions’ upcoming UEFA Champions League clash against Liverpool, Footynaija.com reports.
Osimhen sustained the injury during the last international break with Nigeria, sidelining him for the past three weeks and forcing him to miss crucial Super Lig and Champions League games.
Galatasaray, via head coach Buruk had recently teased the striker’s return to action, revealing that he could potentially play a part in Friday night’s Super Lig clash against Alanyaspor.
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The 26-year-old did return to on-field action as the Turkish champions went on to secure a narrow 1-0 victory at GAIN Park Stadium. He came on for the final five minutes of the game, replacing Baris Alper Yilmaz and helping Gala see out the win.
Speaking after the game though, Buruk revealed that despite Osimhen’s brief involvement against Alanyaspor, the striker is still not fully fit and would need to be evaluated before a decision can be made on his availability for the Liverpool clash.
What Okan Buruk said about Victor Osimhen
“We wanted to play him for 10 minutes today. We wanted him to experience the pain,” Buruk was quoted by Turkish news outlet Reformhaber.
“Sometimes there’s pain, and it’s important to play through pain. He’s not 100% physically ready. He hasn’t had a team training session since returning from the national team.
“He played with us briefly yesterday. We’ll assess his pain and physical condition before thinking about the next match.”
Friday’s victory of Alanyaspor saw Galatasaray maintain their perfect start to the Super Lig season. The Lions have recorded seven wins from seven games, scoring 19 goals and conceding only two.
They’ll be hoping this impressive form can extend to Europe as they look to bounce back from that heavy 5-1 defeat to Eintracht Frankfurt in matchday one of the UCL league phase.
