Galatasaray coach Buruk concedes Osimhen still in pain for Liverpool clash

Galatasaray manager Okan Buruk has admitted that returning Nigeria forward Victor Osimhen is playing through pain but could be in line to face Liverpool in their Champions League fixture Rams Park on Tuesday.

After missing a couple of matches for the Turkish side including their Champions League opener against Eintracht Frankfurt owing to injury, Osimhen returned to action as a substitute in club’s 1-0 Turkish Super Lig win over Alanyaspor at the Bahçeşehir Okulları Arena on Friday night.

‘We’ll assess his pain and physical condition’

Osimhen, who came on for Barış Alper Yılmaz, featured for only six minutes.

“We wanted to play with him for ten minutes today. We wanted him to experience the pain,” Buruk revealed.

“Sometimes there’s pain, and it’s important to through pain. He’s not 100% physically ready. He hasn’t had a team training session since returning from the national team.”

On whether he could be available to face Liverpool, Buruk said: “He played with us briefly yesterday (on Thursday). We’ll assess his pain and physical condition before thinking about the next match.

“Baris might have wanted a winger there when he came off today, but I specifically brought Osimhen on so he could play 10 minutes, have a chance to play the next match, and contribute to us. We may have changed our formation and had trouble covering the opposition. However we’re taking these risks to ensure he plays.”