Italian Serie A side, Napoli has confirmed that the club’s striker, Victor Osimhen would undergo surgery to treat fractured eye socket and cheekbone.
The 22-year-old Nigerian striker sustained the injury on Sunday, November 21, when he was involved in a clash of heads with Inter Milan‘s Skriniar.
The two players competed for Napoli’s Hirving Lozano cross in Inter’s eighteen-yard box towards the hour mark. Fortunately for Napoli, Victor Osimhen came out worse after the clash of heads.
Coach Spalletti decided to bring in Andrea Petagna to replace the injured Nigerian striker in the 55th minute of the game.
After he was substituted, Osimhen was taken to the hospital for a medical test. Afterward, Napoli confirmed that the 22-year-old striker sustained a fractured eye socket.
A statement from the club shared on Twitter on Sunday read: “Medical tests on Victor Osimhen after Napoli’s clash with Inter showed that the player has sustained a fractured eye socket and cheekbone.
“The forward will undergo surgery in the next few days and will remain under observation in a hospital in Milan overnight”.
On their part, Inter Milan quoted Napoli’s tweet and wrote: “Speedy recovery and see you out on the pitch again soon!”
Speedy recovery and see you out on the pitch again soon! 💪#FCIM https://t.co/IXXYzhCkLm
— Inter 🏆🇮🇹 (@Inter_en) November 22, 2021
Before Victor Osimhen sustained the injury during the game, Napoli were the first to open the scoring, thanks to Piotr Zielinski’s 17th-minute strike.
However, their lead did not last for more than 8 minutes before Inter Milan got the equalizer through a spot-kick converted by Hakan Calhanoglu.
In the 44th minute, Inter Milan took the lead for the first time in the match through Ivan Perisic’s strike. The first half ended 2-1 in favor of Inter.
In the second half, Napoli’s game plan received a big blow when Victor Osimhen fractured his eye socket and was substituted in the 55th minute.
Inter Milan made it difficult for Napoli when they scored their third goal of the match in the 61st minute thanks to Lautaro Martinez’s strike.
Despite missing the presence of Osimhen, Napoli tried to fight back but all they could get from the game was a consolation goal Dries Mertens scored in the 78th minute.
The 3-2 defeat did not affect Napoli’s position on the league table. They are still topping the league table with 32 points in 13 games, on equal points with second-placed AC Milan, and four points above third-placed Inter Milan.
At the time of publishing this report, it was not confirmed how long Victor Osimhen would stay out of football.
Just like Napoli, the Nigeria national team would hope that the 22-year-old striker’s injury heals as fast as possible. The national team needs to be fit ahead of the forthcoming Africa Cup of Nations which will kick off on January 9th, 2022.
