“On the bench” – Napoli boss Spalletti provides update on Osimhen’s injury ahead of Verona clash

The Nigerian international has not played for the Neapolitans since he returned from international duty in March

Napoli boss Luciano Spalletti has confirmed that striker Victor Osimhen will be available for selection for this weekend’s match against Verona.

Soccernet.ng reports that the Nigerian forward missed Napoli’s Champions League defeat to AC Milan in midweek but trained with the group ahead of the Verona clash.

Speaking at a press conference on the eve of the match, Spalletti said, “The conditions are good, we had a meeting with the doctors this morning and the natural consequence of everything is to call him up for tomorrow.

“He’ll be part of the call-up, but then the goal is to get to Milan as well as possible, but he’ll be on the bench.”

The Napoli boss also commented on the fitness of another striker, Gianluca Raspadori, who is returning from a long injury. “He’s coming back from a long injury, we threw him back out of necessity, because he still needed a few days.

“But we thank him for his availability; he gave us everything he has. Ninety minutes (for Raspadori) is too much, and if there’s a need for 20 minutes of Osimhen, we could evaluate that,” said Spalletti.

Osimhen has been a key player for Napoli this season, scoring 21 goals in Serie A and another four in five games in the Champions League.

Napoli missed the former Lille ace badly at the San Siro as they fell to a 1-0 defeat after dominating the encounter even with ten men.

Osimhen’s return will boost the club as they look to take a major step closer to their first league title in over 30 years and secure a first-ever semifinal spot in the Champions League qualification.