Why Victor Osimhen pulled out of Nigeria’s AFCON 2027 qualifiers squad

Super Eagles striker Victor Osimhen will miss Nigeria's opening 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying matches and will not leave Turkey for Uyo, Soccernet.ng reports.

The Galatasaray striker was initially included in Eric Chelle's 24-man squad for the qualifiers against Madagascar and Guinea-Bissau despite his fitness concerns.

Nigeria's technical team had been hopeful that Osimhen would recover in time to return to competitive action before joining up with the Super Eagles.

However, those hopes were dashed after the 27-year-old failed to make Galatasaray's squad for Saturday's Turkish Super Lig trip to Trabzonspor.

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The match had been viewed as an important fitness test for Osimhen, with his participation potentially giving Nigeria an indication of whether he would be ready for international duty.

As per HT Spor, Galatasaray sent a letter to the Nigerian Football Federation regarding the former Napoli striker, stating that the player has an injury and needs to continue his treatment; accordingly, they conveyed that they do not wish to release him.

AFCON QUALIFIERS: OSIMHEN NOT AVAILABLE

Victor Osimhen’s recovery from a muscle strain has taken longer than expected. He was named in Nigeria’s AFCON qualifier squad after Galatasaray and the Super Eagles technical crew hoped he would be fit for the Süper Lig clash with… pic.twitter.com/HkFpWpdUTY

— Dr. Victor Ademola (@AdemolaVictorTv) September 19, 2026

Victor Osimhen's adductor injury rules him out

Osimhen suffered the injury during Galatasaray's 3-2 victory over Istanbul Başakşehir on September 4.

The striker opened the scoring in the 16th minute but was forced off in the 33rd minute after appearing to suffer a groin problem.

Subsequent medical examinations confirmed a strain in his right adductor muscle group, with Galatasaray describing it as a moderate-to-advanced injury involving bleeding and strain.

The injury has already kept Osimhen out of Galatasaray's subsequent fixtures, including matches against Kocaelispor and Sporting CP.

His absence created doubts over whether he could make the September international window, although Chelle still named him in the squad.

Why Osimhen was initially included in Chelle's squad

Osimhen's inclusion despite his injury was not an indication that he was fully fit. Rather, Nigeria remained hopeful that his rehabilitation would progress sufficiently for him to return before the qualifiers.

It was believed that the 2023 CAF Player of the Year was included because Galatasaray and the national team's technical staff believed he could recover in time, with the Trabzonspor match serving as an important checkpoint, but multiple reports claim he still feels pain.

As such, he will continue his rehabilitation with Galatasaray rather than report for international duty.

A major blow for Chelle

The timing is particularly frustrating for Nigeria because Osimhen had started the season in impressive form for Galatasaray.

Before sustaining the injury, he had scored six goals and provided two assists in his first four league appearances for the Turkish champions, making his availability particularly important to Chelle.

His absence now leaves Chelle with Tolu Arokodare and Akor Adams as the main recognised centre-forward options in the squad, while the coach also has Ademola Lookman, Samuel Chukwueze and Moses Simon available for the attack.

Nigeria will host Madagascar at the Godswill Akpabio Stadium in Uyo on September 25 before travelling to Bissau to face Guinea-Bissau four days later on September 29.

Al-Ittihad's George Ilenikhena will be hoping to impress in the absence of the Galatasaray striker, hopefully finding the back of the net when called upon by coach Eric Chelle.