Napoli head to Monza vs Napoli with two fresh defensive blows. Benoît Badiashile is expected to be out for about a month after a medium-grade strain injury to the right rectus femoris, while Leonardo Spinazzola has a low-grade injury to the biceps femoris of the right thigh and should miss the next couple of weeks.
The injury report before Monza
The club confirmed the update after returning to training in view of Wednesday's league match at the Brianteo. Badiashile underwent instrumental tests at Pineta Grande Hospital, and the diagnosis is a setback because he has made only four Serie A appearances this season. Spinazzola has made seven league appearances, so Napoli are not just losing emergency cover, they are losing a regular rotation option too.
The run ahead leaves little room to absorb that. Napoli's next four fixtures are Monza, Juventus, FC Porto and Lazio, a sequence that will ask a lot of the back line even with the calendar moving quickly. On paper, the injuries hit a defence that already needs bodies more than headlines.
One small boost in defence
There was at least one positive note in the same update. Amir Rrahmani trained with the group, and his return matters because Napoli need every available defender they can get before a run that includes Monza on 28 October and Juventus on 1 November.
Rrahmani has already made seven Serie A appearances this season, so this is not just a case of adding a warm body to the session. The issue for Napoli is simpler than that, they have lost two defenders at the same time and the fixes have to come immediately.
Wednesday's trip to Monza is first, then Juventus, Porto and Lazio follow in quick succession.
Written by Daniel Hartley with AI-assisted research, cross-checked against 2 outlets. How we work →
