Victor Osimhen undergoes successful surgery

Nigeria forward Victor Osimhen has undergone a successful surgery following the injury he picked during Galatasaray’s Champions League fixture against Liverpool at Anfield.

The towering forward was withdrawn in the 46th minute for former Manchester City’s German winger Leroy Sane as Galatasaray went on to suffer a 4-0 humiliating defeat and exit the competition on a 4-1 aggregate outcome.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Galatasaray (@galatasaray)

In a post-match interview, Buruk confirmed the former Napoli FC man was hit in the arm hence could not continue with the proceedings. Later, the Turkish team issued an update on the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations bronze winner, indicating he might undergo an operation.

Galatasaray have now issued a statement confirming the surgery and adding the club’s medical team will do everything necessary to ensure he returns to the pitch as soon as possible.

Osimhen recovery will be monitored daily

“Another of our players, Victor Osimhen, underwent a successful operation on Monday,” read a club statement on their official website.

“His recovery will be monitored daily, and our medical team will do everything necessary to ensure his return to the pitch as soon as possible. Updates will be shared with the public by our club throughout the process.”

While confirming Osimhen could need surgery, Galatasaray said in a statement: “Our football player Victor Osimhen, who was hit in the arm in the first half of the UEFA Champions League Round of 16 second leg away match against Liverpool and completed the first half, was not played in the second half of the match due to the risk of a fracture in his arm after the checks made at halftime.

“After the match, it was determined that our football player had a fracture in his right forearm during the control made at the hospital under the supervision of our medical team and a plaster cast was made. After the evaluations, the decision on the surgery will be made in the coming days.”

Osimhen to miss Nigeria friendly

After the Liverpool defeat, Galatasaray manager Okan Buruk confirmed Osimhen had left the pitch in pain. Buruk said: “Osimhen is also in pain. It happened at the beginning of the game; we tried to keep him on the pitch, but his pain increased, so we had to substitute him at halftime.

“Osimhen’s injury, our inability to make our presence felt during the game, and the confidence we gave to our opponent… They played with more confidence, while we lost ours. Our fans always expect a much more courageous Galatasaray, but none of our pre-match plans worked on the field.”

The injury for Osimhen compounded the misery for the visitors who saw their 1-0 first-leg lead vanish into the thin air to crash out of the Champions League with Egyptian Mohamed Salah being among the scorers for the English side.

The injury has ruled Osimhen out of the Nigeria squad for the upcoming friendly matches during the FIFA international break. The Super Eagles are scheduled to face Iran on Friday as part of a four-nation invitational tournament being held in Antalya, Turkey.