Victor Osimhen: Napoli could sue NFF

The Neapolitans are not finding the developing story around the Nigerian international funny and are considering taking legal action 

SSC Napoli’s lawyer Enrico Lubrano has refused to rule out the option of the Italian club taking the Nigeria Football Federation to court should Victor Osimhen go to the Africa Cup of Nations against the club doctor’s advice.

As matters stand, Osimhen is well on his way to his second Afcon after being named on the Super Eagles 28-man list for the tournament.

It has been just over a month after the former Lille lad underwent surgery to repair fractured bones on his face. The initial prognosis indicated that the striker would be out of competitive action for two to three months.

Earlier this week, Napoli doctor Gianpaolo Tartaro, who operated on Osimhen in late November, said it would take a ‘miracle‘ for him to play in Cameroon next month.

Osimhen, who turned 23 on Wednesday, is presently in Nigeria to spend time with family and friends during the festive season.

The club-record signing was expected back in Naples on Friday for a Dr Tartaro-supervised CT scan that would check the extent of his healing. Many expect the plastic surgeon to declare Osimhen unfit to return to contact football.

But a dramatic twist emerged on Thursday when Osimhen, on his way back to Italy, was discovered to be covid-19 positive.

The youngster was not in his usual playful mood when a Twitter user asked him if he was genuinely positive of the dreaded virus.

His planned check-up has since been postponed, and the young forward is expected to be in isolation for the next ten days.

A section of the Italian media, including Tutto Napoli, reports that Napoli are not impressed with the development as the Italians see it as a gimmick for Osimhen to continue his stay in Nigeria and head directly from there to the Nations Cup.

Despite admitting that Nigerian federation doctors have the final say on Osimhen’s medical condition, club lawyer Lubrano appears to give life to the media rumours by threatening legal action against the NFF.

“Will Napoli go to court? It is not to be excluded for the purposes of compensation by acquiring an official technical consultancy,” Lubrano told Radio Punto Nuovo, as per Tutto Napoli.

Osimhen was an understudy to tournament top goalscorer Odion Ighalo at the 2019 Afcon.

The Napoli forward is the Super Eagles’ leading striker ahead of the 2021 Afcon in Cameroon.