Napoli offered expert advice on how to manage Osimhen

Napoli offered expert advice on how to manage Osimhen
Credit: Icon Sport

A former doctor with Napoli, Alfonso De Nicola, has offered his own opinion on the constant injuries to star forward Victor Osimhen. 

The Super Eagles forward has been battling different kinds of injuries since his move to Naples and is currently injured once again.

Osimhen future still up in the air - Fabrizio Romano
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The absence of Osimhen has affected his side a number of times including their UEFA Champions League quarterfinal clash with AC Milan where they were knocked out last season.

Following another injury layoff in which he is expected to miss action for at least a month, a former doctor of the club believes the Serie A champions will need to be deliberate in managing the Nigerian in order to get the best of him.

Expert offers advice to Napoli on Victor Osimhen

Alfonso De Nicola, former SSC Napoli doctor, spoke live on RadioPunto Nuovo about Napoli and issues surrounding Osimhen.

“I found a good Napoli again, although only the result counts in the end. In Salerno, I saw an excellent team and Arechi's three points are very important for our ranking. 

“Now we are back in the Champions League zone, which is the team's real objective in my opinion. Winning the championship again is possible, but it is very, very difficult. 

On Osimhen returning to action for the team, De Nicola had this to say;

“Osimhen coming back? He definitely knows that he must evaluate his recovery with caution. If he returns, it means that he is back in shape. If three weeks have passed, twenty days are the canonical ones to regain the best shape. 

“Then Osimhen will have to get back into shape a little to complete the rehabilitation process. Danger of relapses? Napoli can do very little about it, other than making the affected muscle as elastic as possible and healing it as best as possible.”

“Then the coach will have to do a lot in managing the playing time and only deploying him when the player is 100% recovered,”

Before his latest injury, Osimhen had already scored six goals in 10 games and will be looking to keep that fine start when he returns. 

Number of games missed by Victor Osimhen due to injuries

Since his big money move to Napoli from Lille about four years ago, Osimhen has had multiple injuries including Covid-19 in that period.

He had a shoulder injury in the 2020/21 season which led to his absence in 15 games then he missed another six games due to Corona. Another head injury meant he missed a further three games in that campaign. 

In the 2021/22 season, Osimhen missed a total of 17 games for club and country due to a calf sprain, a cheekbone problem and CoronaVirus(second time).

Last season, he missed just 11 games – his lowest since moving to Italy – but still played a key role to lead his side to a Serie A title win.

Napoli will find it tough to replicate Osimhen - Former Italy international
Credit: Icon Sport

After picking up another hamstring injury on international duty with Nigeria last month, Osimhen has already missed four games for Napoli this season and he is expected to miss more.

There is no clear date at the moment regarding his return but he is expected to be back in action in the coming weeks.

This article was most recently revised and updated 1 year ago

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