Nigeria suffer Osimhen blow ahead of Madagascar and Guinea Bissau AFCON qualifers

[p]The [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/galatasaray/riaqqurF/"]Galatasaray[/a] striker was initially named in Eric Chelle’s squad. However, his failure to recover on time from a muscle strain has ruled him out of the fixtures.[/p][p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/osimhen-victor/23YHG47R/"]Osimhen[/a]’s absence from his club’s 4-0 defeat to [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/salah-mohamed/08FBycgB/"]Mohamed Salah[/a]’s [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/trabzonspor/MmsYDc03/"]Trabzonspor[/a] on Saturday confirmed that his recovery had not progressed as expected.[/p][p]“[b]Victor Osimhen’s recovery from a muscle strain has taken longer than expected. He was named in [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/nigeria/EBE2Xb3l/"]Nigeria[/a]’s AFCON qualifier squad after Galatasaray and the Super Eagles technical crew hoped he would be fit for the Super Lig clash with Trabzonspor and ready for the international window[/b],” a statement from Super Eagles media read.[/p][p]“[b]His absence from (Saturday’s) match confirms Galatasaray’s message to Super Eagles coach Eric Chelle: the striker is still recovering and will not be available for Nigeria’s fixtures[/b].”[/p][embed guid="896d167a-859b-41d4-8ca6-5a3b4c1cfe4d" url="https://x.com/NGSuperEagles/status/2101571012219326626" social-type="twitter" /][p]The former [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/napoli/69Dxbc61/"]Napoli[/a] star sustained the injury during Galatasaray’s 3-2 victory over [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/basaksehir/YqP5NmC1/"]Istanbul Basaksehir[/a] on September 4th, where he found the net before he was subbed off injured in the 33rd minute.[/p][p]Medical examinations revealed a strain in his right adductor muscle group, with the Turkish club reporting a moderate-to-advanced injury involving bleeding and muscle strain.[/p][p]Osimhen had enjoyed an impressive start to the season, scoring six goals and providing two assists in his first four league appearances for the reigning Turkish Super Lig champions.[/p][p]In his absence, coach Chelle will be banking on [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/adams-akor/nks9eiQ4/"]Akor Adams[/a], [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/arokodare-toluwalase/4IsrUYg1/"]Tolu Arokodare[/a] and newcomer [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/ilenikhena-george/t41NlDfO/"]George Ilenikhena[/a] for goals.[/p][p]The three-time African champions will host [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/madagascar/88OzY9OB/"]Madagascar[/a]’s Barea at the Godswill Akpabio Stadium, Uyo, on Friday, September 25th, before travelling to face [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/guinea-bissau/0rJs9H8F/"]Guinea-Bissau’[/a]s Wild Dogs on Tuesday, September 29th.[/p][p]Nigeria will be aiming to secure maximum points from both matches as they seek early qualification for the competition to be co-hosted by [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/kenya/CIAJw1QK/"]Kenya[/a], [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/tanzania/KzAbFwJ7/"]Tanzania[/a] and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/uganda/hnw06lwh/"]Uganda[/a].[/p][image alt="Shina Oludare" id="77f4edee-493b-45e2-b24b-0d9a1e05766a" credit-line="Flashscore" guid="9a4ba84d-c36e-4fb8-bfb3-2bbcfd156e9b" original-width="1200" original-height="381" /]