By Oluyemi Ogunseyin
Napoli head coach, Luciano Spalletti is over the moon following the return of prolific striker, Victor Osimhen, to competitive action ahead of Tuesday’s Champions League quarter-final second leg against Ac Milan.
Osimhen had missed Napoli’s previous three matches but he partially trained with the rest of the group on Thursday and previous reports said he would be rested for the Italian Serie A match against Hellas Verona.
Napoli, however, included the newly-recovered Nigerian striker in the squad for their Serie A fixture against Verona at the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium on Saturday and he played as a substitute for 17 minutes.
The Nigerian international replaced Giacomo Raspadori in the 73rd minute, making his return after a muscle injury suffered while on international duty with the Super Eagles against Guinea Bissau back in March.
The 24-year-old who is the Serie A’s leading scorer with 21 goals had the best chance of the game for the Partenopei but his effort hit the crossbar minutes after his introduction as Napoli and Verona drew 0-0.
Napoli manager, Spalletti spoke to Radio Kiss Kiss ahead of the Champions League encounter against Milan, giving his assessment of the team’s chances and the return of Osimhen who he counts on for a difference.
“He gave that burst of enthusiasm that our fans rightly attribute to him by now and he immediately showed that he was in the game. He needed these 25 minutes of running to be ready to play on Tuesday,” he said.
“It is clear that we will also see the players in training. Osimhen has this physicality and speed, you can throw the ball up to him and he can protect it, use his head or use a change of pace,” Spalletti added.
“He has so many different alternatives. He is a hero of these fans now, so there is always a wave of enthusiasm around him. These are players made of different stuff, they have so many solutions to help the team.
“They fill the box of delights with all their various characteristics. He will start against Milan on Tuesday, yes,” Spalletti said. The influential Nigerian missed the 1-0 first-leg loss to Milan last Wednesday.
Source: The Guardian
