How Arsenal & Man Utd-target Osimhen came back from ‘near-death’ injury
FT Desk
- Updated: 26 Jun 2022 16:39 BST
- 3 min read
Arsenal and Manchester United-target Victor Osimhen has revealed the sickening aftermath of the “near-death” injury he suffered last season.
The Nigerian suffered multiple facial fractures and required 18 screws and six plaques to secure his jaw together following a collision of heads with Milan Skriniar.
Related articles
The incident occurred during a Serie A game between Napoli and Inter at San Siro in November 2021, keeping Osimhen out of action for a few months.
Osimhen eventually returned in January of this year, being forced to play with a special face-mask in the weeks after.
The attacker has now revealed just how dangerous the injury was.
What did Victor Osimhen say?
“That injury I had against Inter Milan was like a near-death injury,” he told Wazobia FM.
“I am the only one that felt it, and I can only speak about how I felt because it was my face and body.
“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.
“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. 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.”
Osimhen showed all of his mental strength upon his return as he became the main force of Napoli’s Scudetto bid.
The 23-year-old scored 18 goals last season as Napoli were in the race to win their first Scudetto since 1990, only to fall away in the closing weeks of the campaign.
Victor Osimhen's eye 'came out of its socket' in horrifying facial injury — Doctor pic.twitter.com/uFtUwGpIeO
— Naija (@Naija_PR) November 29, 2021
Osimhen is now one of the most-wanted young strikers in European football, with Arsenal and Manchester United having him on their shortlist this summer.
Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis has made it clear he won’t sell Osimhen for anything less than €100 million.
Arsenal are on the brink of signing Gabriel Jesus from Manchester City, which lessens the chances of them buying the former Lille star.
Man Utd, meanwhile, are focusing on other targets first, namely a central midfielder as they negotiate for Barcelona’s Frenkie de Jong.
But should Cristiano Ronaldo continue his reported push to leave the club, then Osimhen will be one of the favourites to replace him.
Osimhen himself is a big fan of the Premier League and it is expected that his next transfer will be to a big English club.
