“Osimhen was out for a long time, he’s still playing with strapping to his shoulder and is not 100 per cent,” said former Napoli manager, Gennaro Gattuso, defending his star striker in an interview with Sky Sport. Three months prior, Victor Osimhen suffered a dislocated shoulder playing for Nigeria during the Africa Cup of Nations.
The following summer, Hirving “Chucky” Lozano suffered a gruesome head injury after falling on the knee of Trinidad & Tobago goalkeeper Marvin Phillip in the Gold Cup.
“Many doctors told me that I could have lost my life and you feel very scared during those times because I would leave behind two children, a wife alone and it was a tough blow and makes you think of many things,” said Lozano in an interview with ESPN.
Though the match was in July, the injury was so severe that Lozano did not participate in Napoli’s summer preseason. The Mexican winger recovered just in time for the start of the 2021/22 campaign. Five months later, Lozano was sidelined yet again after dislocating his shoulder in a World Cup qualifier against Panama. The injury caused El Chucky to miss four matches, with sitting Napoli four points behind Inter Milan at the top of the Serie A table.
Napoli started the 2022/23 campaign with a record of five wins, two draws and no losses, good enough for first in the league (tied with Atalanta) heading into the September international break. As the break approached, Napoli supporters donned their cornicelli, hoping to protect their players from the evils that lurked abroad.
It worked. In fact, Napoli returned from the international break even stronger than before. 15 Napoli players were called up by their respective countries for international duty, two of whom suffered injuries immediately prior to the international break.
Matteo Politano, who suffered an ankle sprain against AC Milan, did not participate in Italy’s UEFA Nations League matches against England and Hungary. Instead, he returned from Coverciano to Napoli to receive treatment.
Amir Rrahmani was kept out of the squad for Kosovo’s Nations League match against Northern Ireland due to a minor muscular injury suffered against the Rossoneri. Rrahmani returned to play 64 minutes in Kosovo’s 5-1 victory over Cyprus – just enough of time at just the right intensity to return to Napoli safely.
Both players were in Napoli’s starting XI against Torino, a match that was over by halftime. Khvicha Kvaratskhelia scored his fifth goal of the season in the 3-1 victory, maintaining the strong form he showed during the break. Kvaratskhelia scored two goals and tallied one assist, leading Georgia to a promotion from Nations League C, Group 4.
Kvara was not the only player to boost his confidence during the international break. Giacomo Raspadori scored the game-winning goal in each of Italy’s Nations League matches, a 1-0 victory over England and a 2-0 victory over Hungary. The diminutive number 9 scored two goals and added an assist in Napoli’s 6-1 thrashing of Ajax in the Champions League.
Likewise, Lozano scored an 85th minute winner in a 1-0 friendly win against Peru. The winger sat out Mexican’s friendly against Colombia for precautionary reasons. Like Politano and Rrahmani, Lozano returned to Napoli fully fit and ready to go.
Curiously, André-Frank Zambo Anguissa was not called up to the Cameroon national team – a welcome break for the Napoli midfielder, who played 772 out of a possible 810 minutes (plus stoppage time) prior to the break. Anguissa used the time to recover and prepare for the matches against Torino and Ajax. He scored twice in the former – his first and second ever goals in Serie A – and assisted two goals in the latter.
Conversely, Napoli’s non-regular starters got an opportunity to play important minutes for their respective countries. Leo Østigård played the full 90 minutes in each of Norway’s Nations League matches against Slovenia and Serbia, showcasing his dominance in the air. Similarly, Mathias Olivera played 85 and 90 minutes against Iran and Canada, respectively.
Yet other non-regulars who were not called up – like Gianluca Gaetano, Tanguy Ndombele and Giovanni Simeone – were treated to two weeks of more personalized training with new boss Luciano Spalletti.
Meanwhile, Napoli’s opponents were less fortunate. Milan goalkeeper Mike Maignon – the best goalkeeper in all of Serie A – suffered a calf injury while on international duty with France. He’s expected to be out for about a month. Inter midfielder Marcelo Brozovic could be out for a similar amount of time after suffering a thigh injury in Croatia’s Nations League match against Austria.
Milan returned to beat Empoli 3-1 before losing 3-0 to Chelsea in the Champions League. Inter returned to lose 2-1 to Roma before beating Barcelona 1-0 in the Champions League. Napoli, on the contrary, have won both of their matches since the break, and they did so in convincing fashion.
They hit the ground running with a 3-1 victory over Torino, then sent a buzz around Europe with a 6-1 thrashing of Ajax, away from home no less.
After Napoli fell short in the 2021/22 campaign, despite an even more impressive start, Napoli supporters are cautiously optimistic this time around. Just as Spalletti continues to wear a rosary beneath his shirt, Napoli tifosi will continue to don the cornicelli beneath theirs.
