Victor Osimhen will be unavailable for Nigeria’s 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying double-header against Tanzania after suffering a knee injury.
Turkish champions Galatasaray announced on Friday that the striker would undergo knee surgery on Saturday following an injury sustained during Tuesday’s UEFA Champions League clash with Bundesliga side VfB Stuttgart.
In a statement, the club disclosed that medical examinations detected a loose body in Osimhen’s left knee, making arthroscopic surgery necessary.
The statement read: “In the UEFA Champions League match we played against VfB Stuttgart, our player Victor Osimhen sustained a strain in his left knee, and MRI examinations detected a loose body.
“An arthroscopic knee surgery will be performed tomorrow at Maslak Acıbadem Hospital by our club doctor Yener İnce. For this reason, our player has been removed from the squad for tomorrow’s match against Amed S. F.”
The injury is expected to sideline the Nigerian international for some time, although Galatasaray has yet to confirm how long his recovery will take.
Osimhen’s absence represents a setback for the Super Eagles as they prepare for their two-legged AFCON 2027 qualifying fixture against Tanzania.
Nigeria are scheduled to welcome the Taifa Stars for the third matchday encounter at the Godswill Akpabio International Stadium in Uyo on Friday, November 13.
The team will then travel to Dar es Salaam for the return leg on Tuesday, November 17.
With Osimhen unavailable, Nigeria will need to identify an alternative attacking option for the important qualifying matches.