Napoli Begin Counting Cost of Osimhen’s Unavailability 

There appears a growing concern in Napoli about the currently sidelined top striker, Nigeria’s Victor Osimhen, over the spate of injuries that have seen him miss 55 games since joining the club. 

Osimhen who got injured in nigeria’s International friendly with Saudi Arabia in Portugal, is believed to still be holding up somewhere in Lagos, Nigeria is ce returning from the FIFA window  with Super Eagles. 

It has also been projected that the forecast will rise to 58 considering the fact that Osimhen still has at least three more matches to miss against Salernitana, Union Berlin and Empoli before returning to full fitness.

According to an Italian news outlet in Naples, Tuttonapoli, Osimhen also missed three matches due to suspension bringing the total to 61 missed matches in three seasons. 

According to the publication, it was considered that “61 games is a lot for a player with a net salary of five million euros a year.” 

It reasoned that Napoli, in fact, paid more than a year of salary to Osimhen without being able to count on him, remembering that an average season has about 50 games a year between league and cups. 

Osimhen is a repeat offender: according to Transfermarkt’s which gave a breakdown of Osimhen’s missed matches. The first in November with the problem behind him in the national team. 

He was out of action for 15 games. Then he missed six with Covid and three more with a head injury in February 2021 and two more with a calf strain in October of the same year. 

Shortly after, due to a fractured cheekbone against Inter Milan for the clash with Skriniar, he was out of action for 12 games and missed two more, again in the 2021/22 season, due to Covid. 

Last year he was knocked out by Liverpool: out seven games. He was also out in the spring for four games due to an adductor injury. 

The last knockout in the national team: so far three games missed due to the hamstring injury. 

For a total of 58 matches including the next three. In addition to the injuries, he also missed three matches due to disqualification. The grand total? 61 games. 

Many, too many. Waiting to see if he will really return immediately after the break and remembering that in January, he will go to the Africa Cup of Nations and therefore will certainly miss other games. Evaluations are also underway for clubs that want to bet on him in the future.