Victor Osimhen will miss the all-Italian Champions League quarter-final first-leg clash with AC Milan because of injury.
The Nigerian striker has failed to recover from a muscular injury and was left out of Luciano Spalletti’s matchday squad.
Osimhen has been a key figure in Napoli romping 16 points clear at the top of Serie A and reaching their first-ever Champions League quarter-final, scoring 25 goals in all competitions.
Milan coach Stefano Pioli admitted that the absence of Osimhen will hurt his opponents.
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“We’re talking about a great striker, he has scored goals consistently in the league and in Europe,” he said.
“But up until the game against us, Napoli had always won without Osimhen. We’re talking about a great team that has all the qualities needed to be feared.
“The match in the league will obviously give us an idea, but there’s no way it will be the same match again.
“I think we can expect something different from Napoli so we need to be aware whether we need to make changes from the match in the league.”
Osimhen’s absence will be a boost to Milan’s hopes, while the Rossoneri also have a stunning 4-0 win over Napoli at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona on April 2 fresh in the memory.
“Milan can win the Champions League,” said Rossoneri and France full-back Hernandez.
“The important thing is to do what we know against Napoli. We have worked well ahead of this match.
“It won’t be the same as in the league game. We’re expecting a strong Napoli side. We have prepared well and we will have 12 men at San Siro thanks to our fans.”
