Napoli will miss Osimhen - Garcia

Napoli coach, Rudi Garcia, has admitted that Victor Osimhen will be sorely missed as the Partenopei prepares for a busy fixture schedule this month, PUNCH Sports Extra reports.

The 24-year-old will miss Napoli’s upcoming matches against Hellas Verona, Union Berlin and AC Milan after he suffered a medium-grade lesion of the biceps femoris in his right thigh while away on international duty with Nigeria.

Despite having other options in attack, Garcia believes the absence of his leading goalscorer may affect his team’s chances of returning to winning ways.

The Serie A champions who have won only four league games this season, suffered consecutive defeats to Real Madrid and Fiorentina before the international break – a poor run which has put Garcia under pressure.

“We need all our players fit and ready to play and Osimhen out is a big loss for the team,” Garcia told La Gazzetta dello Sport.

“He is an important player to the team and we must find a solution in his absence.”

Osimhen has scored a total of 65 goals and 15 assists in 111 games in the Napoli shirt.

Meanwhile, a top transfer expert, Ekrem Konur, has reported that the Nigerian is open to join Real Madrid.

Osimhen’s contract at Napoli will be up in the summer of 2025.

Should he not sign a new deal in January, the Serie A champions will be forced to sell so as not to lose him for nothing in 2025.

Osimhen has been linked to some of Europe’s top clubs and Konur says the Eagles striker would be open to a move to Real Madrid following recent events at Napoli that have unsettled him.

Real Madrid still haven’t replaced Karim Benzema (now at Al-Ittihad) with a new big name in the attacking position. Instead, Joselu (from Espanyol) joined in the summer.

Napoli are currently fifth in the Serie A table with 14 points from eight games.