Victor Osimhen faces three-week absence after adductor strain in Galatasaray win

Victor Osimhen scored the opening goal, looked sharp, and then hobbled off the pitch in visible pain before the first half was done. The 27-year-old will now spend roughly three weeks on the sidelines, missing a stretch of fixtures that could define Galatasaray’s early-season trajectory.

The injury happened on September 4, 2026, during Galatasaray’s 3-2 Super Lig victory over Istanbul Basaksehir. Osimhen netted in the 17th minute, then lasted only another 16 minutes before being substituted off at the 33rd mark. The culprit: a right adductor strain with internal bleeding.

What the scans showed

Osimhen underwent MRI scanning at Acıbadem hospital on September 6 and 7, and the results confirmed what the substitution had already suggested. The scans revealed an advanced-moderate strain.

Galatasaray made the news official on September 6-7, announcing a three-week recovery window. Some sources place the return timeline at two to three weeks, which would put Osimhen back on the pitch around mid-October at the earliest.

He was not the only casualty from that Basaksehir match. Teammate Mario Lemina sustained a similar injury during the same game.

The matches he will miss

Osimhen’s absence will be felt immediately in the UEFA Champions League, where Galatasaray open their campaign against Sporting CP, a match that arrives before he is expected to be fit.

In the Super Lig, Kocaelispor and Trabzonspor are next in line. Galatasaray has said it will reassess Osimhen’s condition before the Trabzonspor fixture.

Nigeria’s Super Eagles have AFCON qualifying matches on September 25 against Madagascar and September 29 against Guinea-Bissau. Osimhen will miss both.

Filling the gap at Galatasaray falls to Barış Alper Yılmaz and new signing Deniz Gül.

A body that keeps letting him down

This is not Osimhen’s first significant injury in 2026. He dealt with a forearm fracture earlier in the year that required surgery and sidelined him for roughly six weeks.

Osimhen joined Galatasaray from Napoli in 2025 as the club’s most expensive signing at €75 million. Missing the Champions League opener against Sporting CP is the kind of absence that frustrates clubs investing significant resources in a player.

Galatasaray’s reassessment ahead of the Trabzonspor match will be the first real indicator of whether the three-week timeline holds or extends further.

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