Victor Osimhen: Galatasaray warned over striker’s injury – “Running on gas”

Super Eagles striker Victor Osimhen picked up an injury last night, and former Beşiktaş midfielder Sinan Engin has warned Galatasaray over their management of the striker, Soccernet.ng reports.

Osimhen suffered a groin injury during Galatasaray’s dramatic 3-2 victory over İstanbul Başakşehir, raising concerns over his availability for their upcoming Champions League campaign.

The Nigeria international had already made a blistering start to the new season, scoring six goals and providing two assists in his first four appearances for the Turkish champions.

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He added another goal to that tally against Başakşehir, firing Galatasaray into the lead in the 16th minute with a powerful strike from outside the box.

However, the 27-year-old was forced off 17 minutes later after feeling discomfort in his groin, with Barış Alper Yılmaz replacing him.

Galatasaray eventually secured all three points through Gabriel Sara’s stoppage-time free-kick, but the victory was overshadowed by concerns over their star striker.

Galatasaray begin Victor Osimhen injury assessment

Galatasaray confirmed earlier today that Osimhen had suffered a strain and pain in his right adductor muscle group.

The club said treatment had already begun, while advanced examinations, including an MRI, would be carried out to determine the full extent of the injury.

Galatasaray will be particularly concerned because their next game is their Champions League opener against Sporting CP on Wednesday.

The Turkish champions are also preparing for a demanding run of fixtures, making Osimhen’s fitness important to their ambitions this season, alongside that of the Super Eagles of Nigeria.

Engin: Galatasaray without Osimhen is “running on gas”

Engin believes Galatasaray must be extremely careful with how they manage Osimhen, considering the Nigerian’s importance to the team.

Speaking on the Asist Analiz YouTube channel, the former Beşiktaş midfielder compared Galatasaray without Osimhen to a car running on gas.

“Galatasaray without Osimhen is like a car running on gas! It's like putting a gas conversion kit on a brand-new car for fuel economy!” Engin said in quotes revealed by Habersarikimirzi.

“You'd say to the driver, ‘You bought this car, and you're thinking about the cost of gas?’

“It's the same thing. His performance will suffer. Galatasaray will have to treat Osimhen like a precious gem.”

Engin’s comments underline the extent to which Osimhen has become central to Galatasaray’s attacking plans since joining the club permanently from Napoli, but also hinted that the club's style of play may have been too demanding for the body of the 2023 CAF Player of the Year.

Super Eagles also sweating over Osimhen

The injury will not only concern Galatasaray, with Nigeria also monitoring the striker’s condition ahead of the first round of the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers.

The Super Eagles are scheduled to face Madagascar on September 23 before travelling to play Guinea-Bissau four days later.

Eric Chelle will hope that Osimhen’s injury is not serious enough to keep him out of Nigeria’s crucial qualifiers, especially after the injury list already includes Fisayo Dele-Bashiru, Zaidu Sanusi and Femi Azeez.

For now, however, the priority is the results of his further medical examinations. With Osimhen in such devastating form at the start of the campaign, both Galatasaray and Nigeria will be hoping the injury is only a minor setback.

If not, Eric Chelle will have to throw his weight behind in-form options like Kelechi Iheanacho, Tolu Arokodare and Rafiu Durosinmi.