The 23-year-old played in the second leg of Neapolitans' Europa League Round of 32 match against the Catalan giants, but he could face another layoff.

Victor Osimhen went off with a suspected injury in Napoli's 4-2 loss to Barcelona last night, and Super Eagles coach Austin Eguavoen would be concerned about his fitness.

Despite playing 73 minutes in the match at the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium on Thursday night, Osimhen walked away with a hefty strapping on his knee, prompting speculation that he had suffered another injury.

Since the first leg of the match last week, Osimhen appeared to have been nursing an injury. In the reverse fixture at the Camp Nou, the Nigerian international had a taping.

Spalletti also confessed that he did not start against Cagliari on Monday because he was not in good enough shape.

He appeared to have compounded the problem on Thursday night. 

Napoli are yet to issue a statement, but Osimhen's fitness will be a major concern for Nigeria ahead of their match against Ghana next month.

The Super Eagles face their West African rivals, Ghana, in two crucial World Cup playoff games, and they will hope to have Osimhen help them qualify for the tournament in Qatar.

After missing the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations owing to a facial injury, Osimhen's likely absence will be a setback for Nigeria.

After an eight-week layoff, he returned to competitive action last month.


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