Viktor Osimhen is ready again and the timing is near perfect. Five weeks after a groin strain sidelined him against Basaksehir, the Super Eagles striker came off the bench on Friday to set up the final goal in Galatasaray’s 3-1 win over Kasımpaşa. Next up is Barcelona at RAMS Park in the Champions League on Tuesday.
He played only the last quarter of an hour. That was enough.
“Galatasaray” was down to ten people by that time. Lucas Torreira was sent off after a VAR review. Jesur’s Rak-Sakyi canceled out Abdülkerim Bardakci’s header just before half-time and the home side looked set to lose a point. According to the news of the club’s official match, Osimhen entered the field in the 77th minute. Barış Alper Yılmaz regained the lead with death. Then, deep into stoppage time, Mario Lemina finished a drive through the Nigerian and the club assisted Osimhen.
It was his first speech since September 4. That night, he limped off after 33 minutes of a 3-2 win over Basaksehir, with scans showing a right-sided strain. He missed the Champions League opener in Lisbon, which Sporting won 3-1.
A tall order on Tuesday
Barcelona is flying by. Hansi Flick’s side have won all eight of their La Liga games, the latest being a 3-0 victory over Getafe. They opened their European campaign by beating Feyenoord 5-0.
Flick did his homework. “Galatasaray has a fantastic striker like Osimhen, they have a really great team”, – the head coach of “Barcelona” told the Turkish publication Ahaber. Then came a row for the home crowd. “We will play in the loudest stadium in the world.”
Osimhen knows this opponent. His 75th-minute equalizer earned Napoli a 1-1 draw with Barcelona in the last 16 of the 2023-24 season, although the Italians were eliminated in the second leg in Spain.
Galatasaray fan channel Peshindeyiz said, “Barcelona match will be a difficult game, but to be honest, like my teammates, I am very excited for this match.”
Will it start? That’s the big challenge. In five weeks, he played only 15 minutes of football.
What it means for the Super Eagles
The good news for Nigeria is simple. It plays again.
The eagles were able to get through the jagged window anyway. On September 25, they beat Madagascar 2:1 in Uyo. Four days later, a 3:0 defeat was recorded in Guinea-Bissau, and on October 6, a 3:3 friendly match was recorded in Russia. That defeat in Bissau turned the AFCON 2027 qualifying campaign into something less comfortable than the Glass House would have liked at the time of the draw, with the next two games coming quickly. Tanzania visits Uyo on November 11. The second leg in Tanzania will be held on November 15.
Some rust is inevitable. The groin strain is also a reminder of how fragile these muscle injuries can be, so the minutes that Galatasaray will give him in Abuja in the coming weeks are also important.
Tuesday will tell us a lot.
If Osimhen can challenge a tested Barcelona defense in Spain this season, Nigeria’s most important striker will go into November with the right mindset and it won’t take long to answer the question of who leads the line against Tanzania. For background, read our coverage of Osimhe’s journey ahead of the Kasimpasa game or relive Barcelona’s equalizer against Napoli.
This article was last revised and updated 21 seconds ago