Galatasaray striker Victor Osimhen has been ruled out of Wednesday’s UEFA Champions League opener against Sporting CP after suffering a right adductor injury and is also expected to miss Nigeria’s opening 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers later this month.
The 27-year-old is expected to spend between two and three weeks on the sidelines after medical examinations confirmed what Galatasaray described as an advanced-moderate strain with bleeding in his right groin muscle group.
Osimhen sustained the injury during Galatasaray’s 3-2 Turkish Super Lig victory over İstanbul Başakşehir on Friday.
The Nigerian striker had opened the scoring in the 16th minute before signalling that he could no longer continue and was replaced by Barış Alper Yılmaz in the 33rd minute.
Galatasaray later confirmed that MRI and advanced medical examinations carried out at Acıbadem Hospital detected the injury and that treatment had commenced.
“Following the completion of MR and advanced examinations at our sponsor Acıbadem Hospital, advanced-moderate level strain (bleeding and strain) has been detected in the right adductor (groin) muscle group of our footballer Victor Osimhen,” the Turkish champions stated.
The diagnosis effectively rules Osimhen out of Galatasaray’s Champions League league-phase opener away to Sporting CP on Wednesday.
His absence also creates an immediate selection problem for Nigeria ahead of the Super Eagles’ opening matches in the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying campaign.
Nigeria are scheduled to face Madagascar on September 25 before meeting Guinea-Bissau four days later, with Osimhen now expected to miss both fixtures if his recovery follows the projected two-to-three-week timeline.
Galatasaray are hopeful the striker will recover after the international break and become available ahead of their second Champions League league-phase fixture against Barcelona in Istanbul on October 13.
Osimhen had started the domestic season in strong form, registering six goals and two assists in four Super Lig appearances.
His latest strike against Başakşehir gave Galatasaray the lead, but the Turkish champions surrendered their advantage twice before Gabriel Sara struck in the 90th minute to secure a 3-2 victory.
The injury comes at a sensitive period for both Galatasaray and Nigeria, with the Turkish side beginning its Champions League campaign while the Super Eagles prepare for the opening phase of another continental qualification series.
Nigeria’s attacking options could face additional pressure following a separate fitness concern involving Paul Onuachu, who was forced off during Trabzonspor’s 5-0 victory over Gençlerbirliği.
Osimhen’s spell on the sidelines could also temporarily halt his pursuit of Rashidi Yekini’s long-standing Nigeria goalscoring record.
The Galatasaray forward has moved to within two goals of Yekini’s 37-goal mark after scoring eight times in seven appearances for Nigeria in 2026.
His most recent international goal came during Nigeria’s 2-0 Africa Cup of Nations quarter-final victory over Algeria in January.
