Napoli and Nigeria star Victor Osimhen has opened up on the nasty injury he sustained against Inter Milan last year that kept him out of action for a couple of months.
Osimhen collided with Milan Skriniar in a fixture against Inter at the Giuseppe Meazza Stadium on November 21, a match Napoli lost 3-2. The forward was diagnosed with a left cheekbone and orbital fracture afterwards.
He would not return to action until January 17. In addition to missing many club matches, he withdrew from Nigeria’s squad for the 2021 Nations Cup, which was played in Cameroon from Jan 9 to Feb 6, 2022. He has been wearing a protective mask ever since.
“That injury I had against Inter Milan was like a near-death injury. I am the only one that felt it, and I can only speak about how I felt because it was my face and body,” Osimhen told Wazobia FM.
“But to be able to stand up without using the stretcher, walk out of the pitch on my own, then I knew that it was something I could handle.”
The 23-year-old initially thought the injury was minor, but he ended up spending more time on the sidelines than expected.
“For me, as I got to the hospital, I told my doctor that I would be out for two weeks maximum. When the scan came out, I fractured many bones, which they had to remove and fix inside again,” Osimhen continued.
“I have like 18 screws under my jaw. I went through a lot. A lot of sleepless nights. I could not sleep, I could not eat with the pain. But at the end of the day, I am a lion, and I know the kind of mentality I have. In my mind, I had already scheduled my return following the surgery.”
Nevertheless, Osimhen managed to score 14 Serie A goals in the 2021/22 campaign and was voted as the league’s best young player. He netted 18 times in 32 games across all competitions for the Partenopei.
