Nigeria and Napoli striker Victor Osimhen played his first minutes since the international break when he sustained an injury while playing for Nigeria.
The striker is expected to lead the line as Napoli host AC Milan in the UEFA Champions League second leg at the Stadio Maradona.
They will hope to overturn a 1-0 deficit from the first leg with the return of their top scorer.
Napoli coach Luciano Spalletti believes that coming back of Osimhen will help his side make up for the key players who won’t be available tonight.
“We have a few absencetees, but we earn more with the presence of Osimhen than we lose with those absences…… Because he will probably be left one-on-one as Milan come after you; they like to press. They are a team that plays a totally modern style of football. They will already be thinking about him being left up there, as are we,” he told reporters ahead of tonight’s game against AC Milan.
Spalletti eyes Champions League semis with the return of Osimhen
Spalletti said that his side will do everything necessary tonight to get through to the last four.
“I will only be happy if we get through. There won’t be much consolation in a good performance. You always have the chance to overturn any deficit…. And I expect the team to do everything necessary during the match to do that,” he said.
Osimhen missed his side’s quarter-final first-leg loss on Wednesday last week, as the Partenopei fell 1-0 at San Siro courtesy of Ismael Bennacer’s first-half finish.
The Nigerian striker is currently the Serie A top scorer with 21 goals this season. He has been integral to the club’s runaway lead in the race for the Scudetto.
Osimhen has scored 25 goals in matches across all competitions this season including four goals in the Champions League.
Napoli will look to seal qualification for the Champions League semi-final tonight for the first time in their history.
