Galatasaray head coach Okan Buruk has revealed that striker Victor Osimhen will undergo scans to determine the extent of his recent injury.
The Nigerian striker initially appeared to have suffered an injury in Galatasaray’s 3-1 win over Rizespor in the Turkish Super League, although he came out of the encounter without complications.
Osimhen was cleared to start for Nigeria against Rwanda last Saturday and had an early strike ruled out for offside by the assistant referee, before his evening ended prematurely .
After a clash with a Rwanda defender, he struggled to continue and was eventually replaced by Cyriel Dessers in the 35th minute of the match.
The Super Eagles struggled in his absence, until second half substitute Tolu Arokodare netted the only goal of the match in the 51st minute to give Nigeria the important win.
Osimhen, who won the 2023 African footballer of the year award, did not travel with the squad to Bloemfontein, where they will face South Africa on Tuesday.
The three-time African champions face Bafana Bafana in a crucial clash, as anything short of a victory will dash their hopes of securing a ticket for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
South Africa currently top Group C with 16 points, with Benin Republic in second position with 11 points. Nigeria are third with 10 points, with only three rounds of matches to play.
What Okan Buruk said about Osimhen
Osimhen joined Galatasaray on a permanent deal this summer after an impressive loan spell in the 2024/25 campaign.
Reacting to the news, Okan Buruk expressed disappointment and is hopeful the striker would not be ruled out for a long time.
“He’s currently unfit for the match in two days. We’ll see what happens. This is devastating news for tonight”, he revealed.
“Osimhen clearly has some pain. He informed us. We took immediate action. If he’s not playing for the national team, we want to bring him here as soon as possible for a checkup.
“We hope it’s nothing serious. It’s an injury we’ll overcome as best we can,” the 51-year-old added.
