Galatasaray manager Okan Buruk is confident Victor Osimhen will be fit in time for their Champions League showdown with Liverpool later this month, despite the striker still struggling with ankle pain, Soccernet.ng reports.
The Nigerian forward has been sidelined since injuring his ankle while on international duty against Rwanda on September 6.
Scans revealed ligament strain and internal bleeding, ruling him out of recent fixtures, including the heavy 5-1 defeat to Eintracht Frankfurt in Europe.
But head coach Okan Buruk has now offered the clearest update yet, confirming Osimhen is edging closer to a return.
“He took part in part of the training session,” Buruk said as per Milliyet.
“He has minor aches and pains. But if he can tolerate them and play, we hope he’ll be with the team in our next match. We’ll try him out in training. He played for 10 minutes yesterday. His pain is still there.
“We expect him to be in the squad for the Alanyaspor match. We expect him to be on the pitch for the Liverpool match.”
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Victor Osimhen, who is Nigeria and Galatasaray’s highest-rated star on the newly-released EA Sports FC 26, rejoined full team training on Sunday for the first time since his injury and has been gradually building up minutes.
However, Turkish media report that the 26-year-old will undergo another MRI scan to assess whether he is fully ready.
The striker sat out Galatasaray’s weekend league win over Konyaspor and is likely to feature from the bench against Alanyaspor on Friday, with the club reluctant to take any risks before the visit of Liverpool to RAMS Park on September 30.
Osimhen’s availability would be a major boost for the Turkish champions, who are eager to steady themselves after the bruising loss to Frankfurt. He has already netted twice in three appearances this season and remains their most dangerous weapon in attack.
Buruk knows his side cannot afford to go into a meeting with the Premier League champions under-strength. The atmosphere at RAMS Park is expected to be electric, but Galatasaray will need Osimhen at his sharpest if they are to lay down a marker in Group A.
Liverpool, unbeaten in the Premier League so far this campaign, represent the toughest test yet for the Turkish champions.