"I'm fine," Scott McTominay said, and that was the message Napoli needed after his heart surgery. He added that the procedure was something he had planned with the club for quite a while, but the recovery period still leaves him out of Wednesday evening's Champions League match against Arsenal.

Giovanni Manna's update made the longer issue harder to avoid. He said McTominay has a two-year contract and that both sides want a renewal, then added, "It's not always easy to make things coincide, but we're trying." Manna also said it will take 28 days for sporting fitness because McTominay will take anticoagulant drugs.

Napoli's contract problem around McTominay

The medical side is clear enough. McTominay is 29 and has only 2 league appearances for Napoli this season, so the club are not managing a long injury list around a settled starter run. His 73 caps for Scotland also explain why his absence travels beyond Naples.

The contract side is less settled, and Manna's comments are the sharper part of the story. Napoli want the renewal done, McTominay wants it too, but there is no sign of a quick finish. That leaves the midfielder in an awkward spot: present enough for the club to talk about extension terms, unavailable enough for the club to plan without him this week.

Napoli's short-term midfield cover

McTominay's absence comes with André Zambo Anguissa and David Neres missing first-team training on Tuesday morning, 24 hours before the Arsenal match. Stanislav Lobotka remains the most stable midfield option in the group, with a 6.63 rating this season compared with McTominay's 6.45.

Napoli do not need the situation dressed up. They have a player telling supporters he is fine, a sporting director saying the contract work is still tricky, and a match against Arsenal arriving while the midfield options are not all cleanly available. The next public marker is the team selection for Wednesday evening, after which the 28-day recovery clock remains the clearest part of the story.

Written by Daniel Hartley with AI-assisted research, cross-checked against 3 outlets. How we work →