Victor Osimhen was in the stands for the draw with Genoa and Walter Mazzarri warns he ‘might not’ be ready to face Barcelona either, as reports emerge of Napoli tension over his fitness.
The striker has not been with his teammates at club level since the end of December, as he flew out to prepare for the Africa Cup of Nations with Nigeria.
He only scored one goal and helped his side reach the Final, where they capitulated 2-1 to the Ivory Coast.
Despite the Final being last Sunday, Osimhen did not return to Naples until late Thursday evening after missing a flight and his first training session was on Friday.
Last season’s Capocannoniere was not even in the squad for today’s 1-1 draw with Genoa and there are reports in Sky Sport Italia, DAZN and Il Mattino claiming that it was Osimhen who asked to be excluded.
However, this does not seem to be any empty gesture, because Mazzarri warned to DAZN that Osimhen “might not” be ready to play against Barcelona in the Champions League on Wednesday either.
“We can only hope he can be ready, but his presence is not certain. According to him and the medical staff, he’s nowhere near fully fit, he has some muscular issues.
“After the Africa Cup of Nations, it would’ve been silly to risk him here and risk losing him for another couple of months. He will train tomorrow and we hope to have him ready for Barcelona.”
Speaking in his role as Sky Sport Italia pundit, journalist Paolo Condò criticised Napoli for not providing Osimhen with a private jet to bring him back to Italy several days ago.
Napoli's Osimhen at his lowest, could miss Barcelona game, says Mazzarri https://t.co/OJTGruXTb9 pic.twitter.com/Mqgj4to1ox
— Reuters (@Reuters) February 17, 2024
It’s really symptomatic of the whole club isn’t it? They’ve all lost fitness. Meanwhile last season they were utter machines