Napoli boss Gennaro Gattuso believes a fully fit Victor Osimhen would have made the difference on Saturday as the Partenopei lost 2-1 at Genoa in a Serie match.
“Osimhen was out for three months, he had COVID and a shoulder injury, so he’s not at 100 per cent. We don’t have a magic wand, but he is showing some glimmers of hope. We know his characteristics, but he has barely played for us this season,’said Gattuso.
The Napoli gaffer does not want any comparison between Andre Petagna and his Nigerian import following the loss,saying the former is a very different type of centre forward to the Nigerian.
“Andrea Petagna is a very different type of centre-forward to Osimhen, so their characteristics cannot be compared. The other day when I moved to three at the back, it was to counter Atalanta’s system, but also we are just struggling to recover between games. There’s the genuine risk of losing players to injury, as we only have so many who can play in certain roles. We have to rotate.”
Interestingly Osimhen scored on his full Serie A debut last September against Genoa with the Nigerian earning rave reviews for his performance.The Nigerian has made eight appearances in the competition so far this term,starting five of the games.He has scored twice and provided one assist.