Nigerian star Victor Osimhen is a serious doubt for Wednesday’s Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) semifinal matchup against South Africa in Bouake. This is according to Super Eagles team officials.
The Nigerian football player Victor Osimhen is racing against time to recover from stomach pain ahead of the Super Eagles’ must win semifinal match with South Africa.
The Super Eagles’ communications officer, Babafemi Raji, disclosed the alarming discovery in a statement on Monday.
Raji said the 25-year-old striker was left in Abidjan, where the team’s medical personnel gave him particular treatment.
“While the rest of the team travelled to Buoke, the city where the semi-final match will be held, Victor Osimhen remained in Abidjan, where he is under close watch with a member of the medical team,” Raji stated in the announcement.
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It was, however, unclear if the injury will keep the Napoli striker from playing in Wednesday’s semi-final match against South Africa.
Osimhen injury in action
In the last seconds of Nigeria’s 1-0 victory over Angola in the Africa Cup of Nations quarterfinal on Friday night, Osimhen was stretched out of the field in an apparent injury.
Although the stretcher was called in as a precaution, it is unclear how serious the injury was at the moment.
Osimhen took a number of hard hits during the Angola game, which need early treatment on the sidelines.
His condition is being closely watched by both Napoli and country, and medical evaluations are expected in the coming days.
Coming from a successful campaign with Napoli, Osimhen was selected to lead the Super Eagles’ attack and has started all of the team’s AFCON games.
Before being replaced in the closing moments of the game, he played for ninety-five minutes, including injury time in the first half.
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Osimhen scored during the second half, but the goal was disallowed for offside.
Ademola Lookman’s strike in the 41st minute gave Nigeria a 1-0 victory over Angola and a trip to the semi-finals.
With four goals in five games, the Atalanta star currently shares second place among tournament scorers. Wednesday evening at 6:00 p.m.
Osimhens performance in AFCON 2023
Despite approaching the tournament as one of the favorites to win the golden boot, Osimhen has only found the net once.
That, however, does not provide a whole account of the masked forward’s AFCON experience to date.
In the 1-0 victory over Ivory Coast, he won his team a penalty that captain William Troost-Ekong scored to hand his team three crucial points.
He then played the whole ninety minutes of the last group match against Guinea-Bissau, despite having the option to rest.
Osimhen then turned in an awe-inspiring performance in the 2-0 last-16 win over the Super Eagles’ old rivals Cameroon.
He kept asking questions and pressing the opposition defense all evening and played a role in setting up the opening goal.
“He didn’t score but he had a fantastic game. It is not easy to stop that guy! Ask the defenders of the opposition how they suffer,” said Nigeria’s coach, Jose Peseiro.
Focus will be on the Super Eagles team which has been deemed as a favorite to win the tournament following the exit of big names in earlier stages.
However, the Nigerian side will face a rejuvenated South African side that has registered impressive results in the tounament so far.
