Super Eagles striker Victor Osimhen returned to action for the first time since sustaining an ankle sprain while on international duty, coming off the bench to feature for Galatasaray in their 1-0 victory over Alanyaspor at the GAIN Park Stadium on Friday.
Osimhen has been sidelined with injury since he was forced off during Nigeria’s 1-0 win over Rwanda in their World Cup qualifier clash at the Godswill Akpabio Stadium, Uyo. However, he was introduced in the 85th minute of the game against Alanyaspor, making his highly-anticipated return to the pitch ahead of crucial fixtures.
Galatasaray continued their perfect start to the Turkish Super Lig season with the 1-0 victory, making it seven wins out of seven games and keeping them nine points ahead of second-placed Göztepe. The winning goal was scored by Argentinian striker Mauro Icardi, increasing his tally for the season to five league goals.
Speaking after the match, head coach Okan Buruk confirmed that Osimhen is not yet fully fit and will need to be assessed ahead of Galatasaray’s highly-anticipated Champions League clash against Liverpool.
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“We wanted to let Osimhen play for 10 minutes. So that he could see that pain. He’s not 100% ready, he hasn’t done much team training. Yesterday he came out with us for a short section.”
We’ll evaluate his pain and physical condition and think about the next match. While Barış was coming off, we needed a winger, but I specifically put him in. I wanted him to play those 10 minutes, and we’re taking those risks too,” he added.
Galatasaray will hope to take the momentum from their domestic victory into the Champions League on Tuesday. The Turkish side suffered a heavy 5-1 defeat to Frankfurt in their opening UCL game, as such, they will be desperate to get a result against the Reds even though they will be viewed as underdogs.
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