Sports

True reason for Osimhen’s substitution in Serie A fixture against Cagliari

The Super Eagles star was taken off in the 85th minute against Cagliari because of an injury

Super Eagles striker Victor Osimhen was substituted off in Napoli’s 1-1 against Cagliari over the weekend because of fatigue, Soccernet.ng reports.

Osimhen led the line for Napoli when they played Cagliari at the Unipol Domus on Sunday. The Partenopeans were fresh off a 1-1 draw against Barcelona in the UEFA Champions League in midweek and were looking to get the first win of Francesco Calzona’s reign as manager.

Napoli toiled hard, but they eventually got the opening goal in the 65th minute courtesy of Osimhen. However, the Super Eagles attacker was taken off for Giovanni Simeone in the 85th minute as he could not continue.

There have been talks that the 25-year-old sustained an injury, but that may not be so. According to a report by Napoli Magazine, Osimhen was not injured. Rather, he was struggling with fatigue from playing for Nigeria at the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations in Cote d’Ivoire.

This means he will be available for Napoli’s clash against Sassuolo at the Mapei Stadium-Citta del Tricolore on Wednesday.

Napoli currently sit 9th in the Serie A, eleven points behind the top four. Coach Calzona will hope that Osimhen returns to action as soon as possible.