THE result of a scan to determine the extent of a hamstring injury Victor Osimhen suffered in Friday’s friendly against Saudi Arabia will be known on Sunday (today), Super Eagles coach Jose Peseiro has revealed.
The Napoli striker walked out of the game in the 55th minute without any help after he suffered an hamstring injury in his right leg.
Peseiro expressed his disappointment at Osimhen’s injury and is contemplating sending Osimhen back to Napoli for further evaluation of the injury, stating the importance of the player to both club and country.
“He wasn’t at his best, we’ll evaluate whether to send him back to Naples,”Peseiro said.
“We always work in coordination with the clubs, so we must have respect just as they have for the national teams. We interface daily with each player.
“Our responsibility is also the physical form of our players. Osimhen is a fantastic player, Napoli needs him, and so do we. So it’s everyone’s responsibility.”
Peseiro also hinted that whatever the extent of the injury, he won’t risk Osimhen for Monday’s other friendly against Mozambique.
A winner could not emerge in Friday’s friendly match between Nigeria and Saudi Arabia at the end of their second-ever meeting in Portugal, with the three-time Asian champions netting a last-gasp equalizer from a free-kick at the edge of the box that deflected off Calvin Bassey.
Osimhen, Ademola Lookman and Samuel Chukwueze had first-half chances to put the Super Eagles ahead but could not, only for the Saudis, who had lost their last six matches in all competitions, to take a shock lead on the hour mark when goalkeeper Francis Uzoho palmed the ball into his own net from a free-kick way out on the right flank by Salman Al Faraj.
Coach Jose Peseiro introduced Terem Moffi for the injured Victor Osimhen, and brought in Bright Osayi-Samuel, Kelechi Iheanacho and Moses Simon to relieve Tyronne Ebuehi, Lookman and Chukwueze.
This appeared to improve Nigeria’s lot at the fore, as Iheanacho and Simon rattled the Falcons’ defence at will, and Simon was the architect of Nigeria’s equalizer, when he did a yeoman’s job to lay the ball to Victor Boniface to score his first Nigeria goal from a tight angle in the 73rd minute.
Eight minutes later, Iheanacho drove the ball powerfully into the net beyond the flailing hands of the Falcons’ goalie, after Moffi and Simon combined to put the opposing defence in knots.
The game came less than 24 hours after the Super Eagles learnt they would be playing hosts Ivory Coast, Guinea Bissau and Equatorial Guinea in the group phase at the Africa Cup of Nations early next year.