Victor Osimhen is reportedly ready to make a timely return to competitive action, providing a major fitness boost for Galatasaray ahead of their Champions League clash with Liverpool. The Turkish club is desperate to include the Nigerian international in the lineup for the fixture, which sees the Premier League giants travel to Turkey next Tuesday.

Osimhen has been recovering from an injury sustained on September 6 while representing Nigeria in their 1-0 World Cup qualifying victory over Rwanda. To ensure his fitness was carefully managed, the forward has subsequently missed four fixtures for both club and country.

Galatasaray is under significant pressure to respond, having begun their 2025-26 European campaign with a crushing 5-1 defeat against Eintracht Frankfurt. The Turkish side must now aim to recover from that heavy loss when they welcome Arne Slot’s Reds to Istanbul, according to Goal.com.

The club will undoubtedly have a confidence boost if Osimhen is fielded to push their attack. There is growing confidence that the prolific 26-year-old will be ready to line up against the English title holders. He has been put through his paces on the training field, allowing any lost sharpness to be rediscovered.

Providing an update on Osimhen’s recovery, Galatasaray manager Okan Buruk informed journalists that the striker “took part in part of the training session. He has minor aches and pains. But if he can tolerate them and play, we hope he’ll be with the team in our next match.”

Buruk went on to say, with Osimhen prepared to put his body on the line against Premier League opponents: “We’ll try him out in training. He played for 10 minutes yesterday. His pain is still there. We expect him to be in the squad for the Alanyaspor match. We expect him to be on the pitch for the Liverpool match.”

According to Sporx, no gambles on Osimhen’s fitness are likely to be taken against Alanyaspor, despite Buruk’s claims that he could be involved. Gala cannot afford to suffer any setbacks and needs their talismanic frontman to be as ready as he can be for an epic tussle with Liverpool.

The Nigerian striker has struggled for full fitness since rejoining Galatasaray on a permanent transfer over the summer. He has started just two of the club’s opening six games in the Super Lig this season.

Osimhen has been a big miss after hitting 37 goals through 41 appearances last season, during a productive loan spell from Serie A champions Napoli.

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He has still managed two goals in three appearances this term, with his finishing ability having never been in doubt. Osimhen will form part of tactical meetings and preparations on Saturday, as Buruk prepares his troops for what Liverpool has to offer.

Former Besiktas midfielder Sinan Engin, who has seen Osimhen at close quarters since he headed to Turkey, is convinced that the African ace will line up against Liverpool even if he is not 100 per cent fit. It is claimed that Osimhen would happily take to the field with a broken leg if needs be.

Engin told habersarikirmizi.com: “I think Osimhen will play in the Alanyaspor match. Even if he breaks his leg, Osimhen would want to play in the Liverpool match. He’s not the type of player to pick matches. He’ll be 100 per cent on the pitch for the Liverpool match.”

Following Liverpool’s dramatic 3-2 win at Anfield against visiting Atletico Madrid, the match was marred by a host of unethical events after the final whistle, which certainly ended one of the most beautiful matches of the season.

After the report of misconduct, UEFA has launched a formal investigation into an incident involving a member of Atlético Madrid’s backroom staff.

The probe comes after an altercation between head coach Diego Simeone and a Liverpool supporter near the end of the match.