THE surgeon who oversaw the operation on Victor Osimhen’s facial fractures has given details about the procedure.
The Nigeria international suffered the fractures following a clash of heads with Milan Skriniar during Napoli’s 3-2 Serie A defeat to Inter Milan on Sunday.
Osimhen walked off groggy after the collision and had to be taken straight to the hospital for tests.
He underwent the operation on Monday, after which he was ruled out for up to three months.
The surgeon explained that the Super Eagles striker required ‘six plaques and 18 screws’ to repair the ‘devastating’ damage.
“Osimhen’s injury was not just a simple fracture to the cheekbone, as it involved many other bones in his face,” the surgeon Gianpaolo Tartaro told 1 Stadion Radio.
“It wasn’t an impact injury, it was one of compression. The kinetic force generated by the crushing of Osimhen’s face against the back of Skriniar’s head did devastating damage.“In order to repair the fractures, I had to insert six plaques and up to 18 screws.”
Although the general prognosis is that Osimhen will be need around 90 days to make full recovery, the surgeon warned that it is still too early to tell the full effects of the injury.
“It really was a complex operation. The condition of his face was really bad, but I can guarantee the surgery was a complete success,” he said.
Osimhen, who is Napoli’s top scorer this season so far with nine goals across competitions, will miss the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations in January.
He will however hope to be fit for the Qatar 2022 playoffs in March.
