Super Eagles striker Victor Osimhen sustained a left knee injury and will miss Nigeria’s upcoming Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers. Galatasaray confirmed the development on Friday.
Osimhen suffered a strain in his left knee during the club’s UEFA Champions League match against VfB Stuttgart. He completed the full 90 minutes in the 2-0 victory. However, subsequent medical checks revealed further problems.
An MRI examination detected a loose body in the knee. Galatasaray announced that Osimhen would undergo arthroscopic knee surgery on Saturday at Maslak Acıbadem Hospital. Club doctor Yener İnce was scheduled to perform the procedure.
The club stated: “In the UEFA Champions League match we played against VfB Stuttgart, our player Victor Osimhen sustained a strain in his left knee, and MRI examinations detected a loose body. An arthroscopic knee surgery will be performed tomorrow at Maslak Acıbadem Hospital by our club doctor Yener İnce.”
As a result, the club removed him from the squad for its Turkish Super Lig match against Amed Sportif.
The injury ruled Osimhen out of Nigeria’s 2027 AFCON qualifying double-header against Tanzania. The Super Eagles were due to host the first match on November 13 before travelling for the return fixture on November 17.
This marked the second consecutive international window that Osimhen missed through injury. He was also unavailable for Nigeria’s earlier qualifiers against Madagascar and Guinea-Bissau.
Nigeria head coach Eric Chelle therefore prepared for the fixtures without his leading striker.
