Napoli forward Victor Osimhen will be fit for their UEFA Champions League quarter-final second leg at home to AC Milan next week, manager Luciano Spalletti said yesterday.
Spalletti lamented the absence of the Nigerian forward following his side’s 1-0 loss in the first leg quarter-final clash against their Serie A rivals at the San Siro on Wednesday.
Osimhen missed the San Siro tie due to thigh injury while on international outing with Nigeria but Spalletti said the Nigerian ace would be 100 percent fit when Napoli host AC Milan at the Diego Maradona Stadium in Naples.
Spalleti said during a post-match press conference in Milan, he said,
“I have no regrets not having Osimhen in the team, we’ll see what happened and we’ll work on it, we don’t carry the episodes with us that are just dirty the way we see the work to be done. I’m just saying that we had the right attitude; I complimented my professionals because they are exceptional. The game was played correctly, then the episodes prove you right or wrong but we mustn’t get rotten about the detail that went against you because it only makes you nervous and makes you talk less about the comeback.”
“If we had had a forward we would have had more chances, even if Elmas contributed to not starting the play correctly, he soiled every Milan build and they often had to lift the ball towards the forward, that ball that becomes a phase of nobody in the air because there is a second ball and whoever cleans it has more fun. The pressure has always been constant and balanced, then it was enough once they passed by and that opportunity arrived. I was waiting for a test like this and it is the most important one beyond one less or more. Osimhen will be 100% available, the planning goes in that direction, not risking it will allow us to complete that job then anything can happen,” he added.
Meanwhile, former Napoli striker Ezequiel Lavezzi believed Osimhen’s return in the second leg would add bite to the attacking line-up of Napoli.
“Napoli played a good game, regardless of the result. I think that in the return he will find Osimhen again, who acts as a point of reference up front, attacks the space and makes the opposing defenders struggle a lot. There are still 90 minutes to play, I think it will be very tough for Milan in Naples. I hope and wish it goes well for the Azzurri,” Lavezzi told Amazon Prime.
