Don't call up Osimhen for AFCON, Napoli doctor warns Super Eagles

Super Eagles of Nigeria striker Victor Osimhen has been ruled out of participation at the 2022 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) scheduled for Cameroon early next year.

Osimhen suffered a horrific injury in an Italian Serie A fixture between Napoli and Inter Milan played on Sunday, November 21, 2021.

Osimhen clashed with Inter Milan's Slovakian defender Milan Škriniar and injured his cheekbone and eye socket.

On Tuesday, November 23, 2021, Osimhen had a successful surgery to begin the rehabilitation procedure.

Dr. Gianpaolo Tartaro was in charge of the surgery on Osimhen and has now given instructions on his recovery. 

According to Dr. Tartaro, Osimhen must not be rushed back into action. Initial estimations were that Osimhen will be out of action for 90 days.

Napoli are top of the table in Italy and reports have suggested that the Nigerian striker could return sooner to help their title aspirations.

The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) are also monitoring the progress of Osimhen for possible inclusion in the Super Eagles team to the AFCON.

In an interview with Tuttonapoli.net, the doctor has stated that Osimhen must not be rushed back into action.

He said,  "I am told Victor (Osimhen), a special boy. His surgery was not a normal operation but a bit complicated."

"He can not be involved in real training contact. He will not be able to do it for eight to nine weeks. It is impossible to think that he will go to African Cup (AFCON). 

"I don't know how he will respond to the fear of playing: how he throws himself and how he fights on the pitch. These are all arguments that we make as fans, but after a fracture, the psychological aspect matters a lot. It was really unfortunate because he had a weird fracture, but a real one is facial trauma."

Osimhen returning to action earlier with a preventive face mask was also dismissed by the Doctor.

He added, "We are already thinking too far ahead of the possibility of wearing face mask but it is too soon. I am still thinking about the points and everything that will happen next.

"He's a great guy, 22 years old. We forget that he is only 22 years old and he is a kid."

"It was an extremely complicated and difficult operation, even the tissues, muscles, nerves and arteries and everything above the skull were compressed and from the image on the TV, we could see that he couldn't open the eyes because the eyeballs pushed out the cheekbone going in, narrowing the orbital cavity.

About Osimhen's recovery, the doctor concluded, "Recovery times? Now the real game for Victor begins. We only did the warm-up with the intervention. Now the second phase begins. A lot depends on him and his body. I don't have a crystal ball and I can't know when he will recover.

"As a Napoli fan, I would love him play tomorrow morning to win the Scudetto, but unfortunately it won't be like that."

Coach Luciano Spalletti has reiterated that Napoli will not be signing a replacement for the Nigerian striker in the January transfer window.

He said, "The Nigerian, as already happened in the past season, ends his second calendar year at Napoli in a decidedly unlucky way. A team that had found it attacking terminal (9 goals of the season) will now have to change something in its way of playing and being unpredictable against the opponents.

"At the moment there are no transactions on the market. Because the budgets do not allow it and because in any case the squad, especially in attack, provides alternatives that other contenders for the Scudetto do not have."

The NFF have wished Osimhen a speedy recovery but only time will tell of his inclusion on the team to the AFCON.