Galatasaray manager, Okan Buruk has played down talks of Victor Osimhen sustaining another injury, explaining that the striker’s substitution against Tottenham Hotspur was due to fatigue.
Osimhen was on fire as he scored two goals which helped Galatasaray to secure a highly important 3-2 victory against ten-man Tottenham in a UEFA Europa League group encounter in Turkey on Thursday evening.
The Nigerian striker despite an earlier injury scare during the preparation for the game started against Tottenham and he justified his starting shirt by netting a brace within the space of eight minutes.
Yunus Akgun opened the scoring in the sixth minute, Tottenham got their equaliser in the 18th minute through William Lankshear.
Osimhen thereafter took over proceedings in the 31st minute, converting a precise pass from Dries Mertens.
Just eight minutes later after being set up once again by Mertens, the Super Eagles striker got his brace with a controlled volley that left Tottenham goalkeeper, Fraser Foster helpless.
Osimhen had a few more goal scoring chances to bag a hat-trick but he fell short with a header while he also saw a shot blocked before coming off in the 80th minute much to the disappointment of the home crowd.
However, Galatasaray manager, Buruk in a post-match press conference clarified that Osimhen’s substitution was not a tactical decision but rather a response to the player’s fatigue.
Buruk added that the Nigerian international had initiated the substitution request due to exhaustion.
“We scored here. Maybe we could have reached 7-8 goals in the second half. We missed very clear opportunities. After that, we got tired. We changed Mertens. He had received a yellow card, we were afraid of him (getting a red card),” Buruk said.
“Then Osimhen wanted to go out. Of course, the crowd reacted here. Osimhen got tired and wanted to go out himself. He had trained for two days. We have another match in three days.”
The manager further emphasized that Osimhen’s limited training time (just two days) influenced the decision to substitute him, ensuring he would be fresh for their upcoming league match against Samsunspor on Sunday.
Since joining the Turkish giants late in the summer on loan from Italian side Napoli, Osimhen has had 10 goals contributions (six goals and four assists) in eight games for Galatasaray.
