Osimhen ruled out of Napoli’s pre-season fixture

Osimhen struck twice the last time he was in action for Napoli, but he will be unavailable against Girona

Super Eagles striker Victor Osimhen will miss Napoli’s pre-season fixture against Laliga side Girona because of a muscle injury, Soccernet reports.

The prolific 24-year-old goal poacher has proven to be the lynchpin for the reigning Serie A kings, as his heroics of last season, when he scored 31 goals in 39 appearances, was key to their success.

Osimhen returned for pre-season action two weeks ago, and he showed glimpses of his brilliance early on with a beautiful goal during training.

However, he was unable to replicate that in his first pre-season appearance against SPAL. Nonetheless, he was not to be denied in their second fixture as he scored two first-half goals to help his side to a 4-0 win against Hatayspor.

The Partenopeans trade tackles with Spanish side Girona on Wednesday, and Osimhen was expected to lead to the line as always. However, Napoli have announced that the former Lille man will miss the game because of a muscle strain.

Coach Rudi Garcia would hope that his star man returns in time for their last two pre-season games against Augsburg and Apollon.

Napoli will begin their Serie A campaign on the 19th of August with a fixture against newly-promoted Frosinone at the Stadio Benito Stirpe.