Osimhen will miss Nigeria’s AFCON qualifiers against Tanzania, raising questions about his commitment to the national team.

Victor Osimhen's commitment to the Super Eagles is under intense scrutiny after the 27-year-old withdrew from Nigeria’s squad ahead of the doubleheader against Tanzania in an Africa Cup of Nations qualifier. 

Osimhen was originally in the squad Eric Chelle named to face the Taifa Stars but will now miss the two games after undergoing surgery for an injury he suffered in Galatasaray’s Champions League clash against Stuttgart. 

It is the second successive international window that the former Napoli man will miss due to injury, having also missed Nigeria’s games against Madagascar and Guinea-Bissau last September. 

As a result, fans have raised questions over Osimhen’s commitment to the national team’s cause. 

A fan on X, formerly known as Twitter, said: This boy is a bad influence to d national team,u can't win afcon as a number 9 striker u can't go world cup, u will come up with an injury anytime dey call u up for qualifiers match, @thenff  our number 9 sharp young striker is George ilenikhena,this one is no longer active again

Another fan also echoed the same sentiment, saying: I think is high time the National team shift his attention from this dude.........😔😔😔

The criticism kept coming, with another fan saying: This guy doesn't want to play for the National Team again. The Super Eagle, as a matter of urgency, should look for a striker who isn't going to act like he's doing us some favour by playing for the team.

In another post, a fan refused to join the conspiracy train but said the Galatasaray man is not reliable: This is just his problem.' He’s not reliable. We can’t keep hoping in an injury prone player.. Eric Chelle needs to wake up…

Osimhen is clearly injured and will not fake an injury to avoid playing for Nigeria, as he has always made himself available to play for the team anytime he is fit. 

It is also unlikely that he will collude with Galatasaray to fake an injury, as it would mean the Turkish champions would be breaking FIFA rules and would be punished if that were to be the case. 

However, while it is true that only injuries have forced Osimhen to miss Nigeria’s AFCON qualifiers, there is also a pattern that suggests that the ex-Lille player picks and chooses the games he wants to play. 

By the time Osimhen potentially plays for Nigeria again, it will have been over a year since his last appearance. 

Victor Osimhen for Nigeria. (Photo Credit: Osimhen/Instagram)

His last appearance for the Super Eagles came in the AFCON 2025 semi-final clash against Morocco in January. 

Since then, the Super Eagles have played seven games, and their star player has missed all these games. 

Aside from the games against Madagascar and Guinea-Bissau, Osimhen was fit for other games during this period but chose not to make himself available, including the post-season friendly games against Portugal and Poland in June. 

This pattern shows that he chooses and picks which games he wants to play, even though it is also not his fault that injuries have robbed him of playing some matches.