AFCON 2025
Victor Osimhen’s blistering start to the season hit a snag on Friday night after the Nigerian striker limped off with a groin injury during Galatasaray’s 3-2 win over Istanbul Basaksehir. Galatasaray confirmed the injury on Saturday morning, ending hours of uncertainty that followed the striker’s early withdrawal in the Istanbul derby.
Osimhen had given Galatasaray the lead in the 16th minute, curling a strike into the top corner off a pass from Lucas Torreira to register his sixth goal of the season. He lasted only 17 more minutes before signalling to the bench that he could not continue, and Barış Alper Yılmaz replaced him in the 33rd minute.
Galatasaray addressed the injury directly in a statement on their official channels. “Advanced examinations, including MRI, for our players Victor Osimhen and Mario Lemina, in whom strain and pain were detected in the right adductor (groin) muscle group during yesterday’s Başakşehir FK match in the 4th week of Trendyol Super Lig, and whose treatments have begun, will be completed tomorrow,” the club said. Both players have already begun treatment as they await the full scan results.
Galatasaray head coach Okan Buruk struck a note of cautious optimism after the match, pointing to the nature of the injury rather than its immediate severity. “The groin area is, of course, prone to injuries,” he said. “It’s a relatively harmless area, healing much faster than the hamstring.” Buruk added that the club would need the MRI results before making any definitive call on Osimhen’s fitness.
The striker himself did little to fuel panic. Osimhen walked out of the stadium unassisted after full time and told reporters he was not yet certain of the extent of the problem, a sight that eased some of the alarm that had spread among Galatasaray supporters and the Turkish football press following his withdrawal.
Despite losing their talisman, Galatasaray held on for a dramatic win. Eldor Shomurodov equalised from the penalty spot in the 66th minute, only for Torreira to restore Galatasaray’s lead five minutes later. Davinson Sanchez then turned the ball into his own net to level things again before Gabriel Sara settled the contest with a curling free-kick in the final minute.
The timing of the injury complicates matters on two fronts. Galatasaray face Sporting Lisbon in their UEFA Champions League opener in five days, a fixture Turkish media reports suggest Osimhen is likely to miss, though there is guarded hope he could return for the following league game if Sunday’s scan results come back favourable. For Nigeria, the setback lands just before the Super Eagles resume their 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying campaign against Madagascar and Guinea-Bissau, leaving head coach Eric Chelle to monitor the situation closely as he finalises his squad plans.
Osimhen has scored in every Galatasaray appearance so far this season and remains central to Okan Buruk’s attacking setup. Both club and country will now wait on Sunday’s MRI results before getting a clearer picture of how long their leading striker will be out.
