Napoli have suffered two more injury setbacks, with Mathias Olivera and Vergara both picking up problems during the international break and the club’s victory at Bologna.
Olivera will miss the return to domestic action after sustaining an “external obturator muscle strain” while playing for Uruguay. His absence leaves Massimiliano Allegri short of options at left-back, while the opposite flank is also without Favasuli until the next international break.
Vergara was forced off five minutes before the end of Napoli’s thrilling win at Bologna and watched the closing stages from the bench with an ice pack on his right calf. The area is considered particularly vulnerable, and further tests in the coming hours will establish whether the injury to the 2003-born player is serious.
Three players were injured during the three-week international break. Allegri is hoping some of those unavailable will return for Saturday evening’s match against Frosinone, who have made an impressive start to the season and held in-form Como before the break.
Meret’s condition is improving and, if fit, he will compete with Milinkovic-Savic for the goalkeeper’s position. Spinazzola is also in good form, offering Allegri some relief on the left side, while Marianucci and Giovane have been performing reasonably well.
Anguissa will be assessed over the coming days, although the initial outlook is not encouraging. Alisson-Santos remains temporarily unavailable and will need more time before he can contribute.
Buongiorno faces a significantly longer absence. He has not played since undergoing surgery on the medial meniscus in his right knee in July, when a return within two months was initially expected. He is not expected back before January, while his lack of almost the entire summer training programme makes a precise return date difficult to predict.
Players will begin returning from their national teams today, with Allegri planning a small-sided game at Castel Volturno on Tuesday. Napoli’s meeting with Frosinone is followed by a Champions League fixture against Villarreal, and the club faces nine matches in less than a month.
The club has dealt with persistent physical problems for the past two years, while Allegri’s time in charge has also been affected by an exceptionally challenging injury situation.
There was more positive news regarding Hojlund, who returned to Castel Volturno having scored three goals and gained confidence with Denmark. He started all four of their Nations League group-stage matches, scoring a header against Norway, finishing a counter-attack against Portugal and converting a penalty against Wales 15 minutes before full-time.
De Bruyne also played three matches, missing the final game through suspension. He assisted against Italy and scored twice against Turkey, recording his sixth brace for Belgium.
Allegri will need both players to lead Napoli until the next international break in mid-November, beginning against Frosinone. His planned 4-3-3 includes Milinkovic-Savic or Meret in goal, with Di Lorenzo, Rrahmani, Rafa Marin and Spinazzola in defence. Lobotka, Gilmour and De Bruyne are set to form the midfield, while Politano and Lang support Hojlund. Badiashile, Marianucci, Bekma, possibly Giovane, and certainly Neres and Luca Marques are the available substitutes.
