Victor Osimhen is set to undergo knee surgery after sustaining an injury during Galatasaray’s UEFA Champions League match against VfB Stuttgart, ruling him out of Nigeria’s 2027 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifiers against Tanzania.
The Turkish champions disclosed this in a statement on their official X account on Friday, revealing that medical examinations had detected a loose body in the striker’s left knee.
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“Victor Osimhen: In the UEFA Champions League match we played against VfB Stuttgart, our player Victor Osimhen sustained a strain in his left knee, and MRI examinations detected a loose body,” the club said.
“An arthroscopic knee surgery will be performed tomorrow (Saturday) at Maslak Acıbadem Hospital by our club doctor, Yener İnce. For this reason, our player has been removed from the squad for tomorrow’s match against Amed S. F.”
The surgery and subsequent recovery are expected to sideline Osimhen for Nigeria’s crucial AFCON qualifying matches against Tanzania on November 13 and 17.
The Super Eagles will host the first leg in Uyo before travelling to Tanzania for the return fixture four days later. However, Osimhen’s recovery timeline remains unclear.
The injury is another setback for Nigeria coach Eric Chelle, who will be without one of his key attacking options as the Super Eagles seek to revive their qualification campaign.
Osimhen has not featured for Nigeria since the 2025 AFCON semi-final defeat to Morocco in Rabat, and his absence will further limit Chelle’s options ahead of the two fixtures.
Following Nigeria’s defeat to Guinea-Bissau in their previous qualifying match, the Super Eagles will be under pressure to secure maximum points against Tanzania and put their campaign back on track before the final round of matches in March 2027.
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