Victor Osimhen remains short of full fitness after a chin injury, but Galatasaray manager Okan Buruk insists he is counting on the Nigerian striker for next week’s Champions League showdown with Liverpool.
The 26-year-old has been out since sustaining the knock during Nigeria’s 1-0 win over Rwanda earlier this month, missing four matches for club and country, including the Super Eagles’ World Cup qualifier against South Africa and Galatasaray’s clashes with Konyaspor, Eyüpspor, and Eintracht Frankfurt.
Providing an update after Gala’s 3-1 victory over Konyaspor, Buruk confirmed that Osimhen has resumed partial training. “He took part in part of the session,” the coach said. “He still has minor aches and pains, but if he can tolerate them, we hope he will be with the team in our next match.”
Buruk revealed that Osimhen has already joined segments of full training, though the process is being carefully managed. “He has trained for 10 minutes with the group already. His pain is still there, but we expect him in the squad for the Alanyaspor game and on the pitch against Liverpool.”
The coach stressed the striker’s importance with a demanding run of fixtures on the horizon, including clashes with Liverpool and Beşiktaş. “Extending our lead at the top to six points gives us confidence, but with the games coming up, having Victor back is very important,” he noted.
Buruk also acknowledged that other squad members are managing knocks. “Yunus Akgün and Ismael Jakobs both felt some pain, so we had to take them off,” he said. “Yunus can play as a number 10, and he did an important job for us.”
Osimhen, who joined Galatasaray permanently in the summer after a successful loan, has already scored twice in his first two starts of the campaign. His potential return against Liverpool would be a major boost for Buruk as the Turkish champions aim to improve on last season’s early Europa League exit.
“With the quality in this squad, I believe we can do even better in Europe,” Buruk added. “The key is to keep winning and widening the gap domestically, while making sure players like Victor recover in time for the big games.”
