Napoli will travel to England to take on Leicester City in the Matchday One of the group stage on Thursday, September 16, 2021.
The game is of significant interest to Nigerians as Osmihen will clash against his Leicester City compatriots Wilfred Ndidi and Kelechi Iheanacho.
The striker, however, is at risk of missing the game as he spent time in Cape Verde, one of the countries on the UK’s red list during the international break.
The 21-year-old played and scored in Super Eagles 2-1 win over Cape Verde in a 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifier on Tuesday, September 7.
The United Kingdom COVID-19 protocols require a mandatory 10-day quarantine stint on arrival in England after visiting one of the red-listed countries.
Osimhen is not the only Napoli player at risk of not playing in that game; David Ospina, Kalidou Koulibaly and Amir Rrahmani also travelled to countries on the red list.
“There are a number of Napoli players coming back from red-list countries, and under English law they won’t be able to play, so will the game be stopped?” Antonio D’Amore, director of the Naples health authority is quoted to say by Daily Mail.
“That is a question for the UK authorities to answer.”
This protocol was why Super Eagles UK-based players did not travel to Cape Verde with their teammates.
Eight of them all flew straight to their base after the game against Liberia.
