Napoli star Osimhen in line for Serie A return against Bologna

Napoli forward Victor Osimhen is in contention to make his Serie A return against Bologna on Monday.

The 23-year-old has recovered from a scary facial injury and coronavirus which made him withdraw from Nigeria's squad for the ongoing 2021 Africa Cup of Nations in Cameroon.

Osimhen joined the rest of his Napoli teammates for full training in the last few days and he has been passed fit to join Luciano Spalletti’s side for their trip to Bologna.

Still wearing a protective mask, the former Lille star damaged his cheekbone after colliding with Inter Milan's Milan Skriniar in November and underwent surgery.

"Osimhen is working with us, Zielinski has been training at home these days and if he passes the exams after Covid tomorrow, he could join us in Bologna. We have some situations that can be taken into consideration for tomorrow,” Spalletti told the club’s website.

Despite his injury absence, the Nigeria international is still among the leading scorers for the Parthenopeans with nine goals in all competitions – five in Serie A and four in the Uefa Europa League.

After the Super Eagles’ 3-1 victory over Sudan at the Afcon on Saturday, Villarreal’s Samuel Chukwueze - who was among the goalscorers - dedicated his goal to Osimhen who did not make the trip.

“I dedicated my goal to Victor Osimhen, I am so happy with the goal and game generally,” Chukwueze said after the game in Garoua.

“In Africa, you can’t look down on any team. I just hope we can keep the momentum going. It is our dream to finish the tournament on a high.”