Osimhen Returns as Galatasaray Beats Kasimpasa Before Barcelona

Victor Osimhen returned from a September 4 injury as Galatasaray beat Kasimpasa 3-1 at RAMS Park in Istanbul, with the striker providing an assist after his comeback and helping the team prepare for Barcelona in the Champions League.

Osimhen entered the match in the 77th minute and set up Mario Lemina's stoppage-time goal. The win moved Galatasaray to first place in the Turkish Super Lig with 16 points from seven matches, according to Punch.

The Nigeria international had missed three matches after suffering a right adductor muscle strain in Galatasaray's 3-2 victory over Istanbul Basaksehir. He previously recorded six goals and two assists in four league appearances before the injury.

Galatasaray chief medical officer Yener İnce provided an update before the Kasimpasa match after Osimhen resumed training with the squad.

"We will conduct tests on all three players, on Osimhen, on Singo, and on Sallai as well. We will make a decision based on the test results," İnce said.

İnce added that Osimhen, Wilfried Singo, and Roland Sallai had progressed during treatment. The club monitored Osimhen's recovery before deciding how many minutes he could play against Kasimpasa.

"But the treatment of all three is going very well. In other words, all three are in a much better condition now compared to one week to 10 days ago. In other words, thank goodness, there is nothing going wrong with the treatments," İnce said.

Against Kasimpasa, Galatasaray played with 10 men after Lucas Torreira was sent off following a VAR review. Abdülkerim Bardakcı scored first, Jesurun Rak-Sakyi equalized, and Barış Alper Yılmaz and Mario Lemina secured the victory late.

Osimhen's return came ahead of Galatasaray's Champions League meeting with Barcelona on October 13 in Istanbul. The striker had also missed Nigeria's international fixtures during his rehabilitation period.