Galatasaray boss confirms Victor Osimhen return from injury

Galatasaray head coach Okan Buruk has opened the door for the return of Nigeria forward Victor Osimhen when they travel to face Alanyaspor in a Turkish Super Lig fixture at Bahçeşehir School Arena on Friday.

The Super Eagles star returned to Galatasaray with an injury from international duty after he sustained a shin injury during Nigeria’s 1-0 win over Rwanda in Uyo during their 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifying fixture.

The injury forced him to miss Nigeria’s matchday eight fixture against South Africa in the same qualifier which ended in a 1-1draw. After travelling back to Turkey, Osimhen was not involved as Galatasaray defeated Eyüpspor 2-0 in a Turkish Premier League fixture at Atatürk Olympic Stadium.

He also missed out as Galasatasaray kicked off their UEFA Champions League campaign with a 5-1 defeat against Eintracht Frankfurt at Deutsche Bank Park, and the league fixture against Konyaspor, which they recovered to win 3-1 at Rams Park.

Osimhen will be in the squad for the Alanya match

Buruk is now confident Osimhen will be available for their upcoming assignments including the Champions League fixture against Liverpool on Tuesday, September 30.

“He (Osimhen) still has minor aches and pains. We hope that if he can tolerate these and play, he will be with the team in the next match,” Buruk was quoted by gozlemgazetesi.com.

”We hope he will be in the squad for the Alanya match. We will try him out in training. We expect him to be on the pitch for the Liverpool match as well.”

Last season for Galatasaray, Osimhen scored 37 goals in 41 appearances while on loan before completing a permanent transfer summer move to the Turkish club from Serie A giants Napoli. In the UEFA competitions, Osimhen has so far netted 19 times in 32 appearances for Galatasaray.

Apart from Frankfurt, Osimhen and Galatasaray will come up against Liverpool, Manchester City, Atletico Madrid, Ajax, Union SG, Monaco and Bodø/Glimt.

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