Nigeria international and Napoli striker Victor Osimhen is racing to be fit for the first leg of the UEFA Champions League quarter‑finals against Milan on Wednesday. He suffered a muscle injury while on international duty with Nigeria last month during the Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers against Guinea‑Bissau. The injury forced him to miss Napoli’s 4‑0 loss to Milan at the Estadio Diego Armando Maradona two weeks ago and also kept him out of the Partenopei’s 2‑1 Serie A victory over Lecce last weekend.
The 24‑year‑old is enjoying a fantastic season in Serie A and has become an integral part of Luciano Spalletti’s squad. The former VfL Wolfsburg striker tops the Serie A scoring chart with 21 goals in 23 matches, powering Napoli toward their first historic league title in three decades. Across all competitions, Osimhen has scored 25 goals in 29 appearances, helping Spalletti’s side sit 16 points clear at the top of the table and reach the Champions League last eight.
Osimhen trained at the Castel Volturno soccer field on Sunday, giving hope that he could be available for the Champions League quarter‑final against Pioli’s Rossoneri. According to Sky Sports Italia, Tuesday will be a key day to determine his availability. “On Saturday Osimhen worked out in the gym, on the treadmill. On Sunday he returned to work on the field. The certainty is that Victor is trying and will try until the last minute to be there in the first leg at San Siro,” quoted Area Napoli. “The player will continue his recovery work on Monday too; the intention is to have clinical tests and a decisive audition on Tuesday to be part of the list of players called up for the away match in Milan. Should the last test give positive signals, Spalletti could include him among the starters, or initially place him on the bench and possibly bring him on in the second half if needed. It is still too early to tell, but confidence is growing.”
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