Napoli Faces Injury Woes After Arsenal Defeat
Napoli’s Champions League opener against Arsenal delivered more than just a narrow defeat. It left a mark.
A 75th-minute strike from Martin Odegaard decided the game 1-0 at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona on Wednesday night, but the real damage for the hosts came earlier, as Alex Meret and Alisson Santos both limped out of the contest. The result stung. The injuries hurt more.
On Thursday, the club confirmed the extent of the blows. Meret has suffered a low-grade injury to the adductor in his left thigh, while Alisson has picked up a medium-grade hamstring injury. No official return dates have been set, yet the tone from the medical updates is cautiously optimistic rather than alarmist.
There is at least one piece of good news. Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa is back.
The midfielder has returned to training and is in contention to feature at the weekend, a timely boost for a side suddenly juggling absences across the pitch. His presence restores some balance in the centre of the park and gives the coaching staff a reliable option as the fixtures start to pile up.
The hope inside the club is that this storm will pass quickly. According to Gianluca Di Marzio, Napoli are working towards having the bulk of their growing injury list cleared by the end of the September–October international break. That target has become a quiet line in the sand for their season.
Injuries
- 2024-25 Serie A MVP Scott McTominay remains out as he recovers from a minor heart procedure to address a benign arrhythmia. The expectation is that he, too, will be back in contention after the upcoming international window, but until then Napoli must cope without the driving force that reshaped their midfield last year.
- At the back, Alessandro Buongiorno and Luca Marianucci are still working their way back from recent injuries, leaving the defensive unit thinner than planned.
- Up front, forward Giovane is also sidelined, another attacking option temporarily erased from the manager’s board.
The pattern is clear: too many absentees, too early in the campaign. Yet the message from within the club is equally clear. Hold the line until October, get bodies back, and then find out what this Napoli side can really be in Europe and in Serie A.
