Napoli could be without midfield talisman Scott McTominay for Tuesday’s Champions League clash at PSV Eindhoven.
The Scotland international missed Saturday’s Serie A defeat at Torino after picking up an ankle injury in training, and has sat out training prior to the trip to the Netherlands.
“Scott hasn’t trained – he (only) did part of the training,” head coach Antonio Conte said at his pre-match press conference. “It will depend on whether he feels like playing, or we’ll find another solution.”
Napoli hope to ignite their Champions League campaign after starting with a tough defeat at Manchester City before edging past Sporting Lisbon last time out.
And having only gone as far as the quarter-finals once in their 10 previous seasons in the competition, Conte believes it will take time for his club to achieve the level of some of the more consistently successful clubs.
Conte added: “Our ambition is to try to understand where we are and how we’re doing in this Champions League.
“Last year we didn’t have any European competitions, and this year is a new journey. The Champions League must be a bit like a school – we’re good students who absorb the lessons of the masters and hope to surpass them.
“It’s a super tough competition, but we have the ambition to understand what path we can take without getting too excited or discouraged. Against City, we played with 10 men. Against Sporting, we had the defence out, but we still won.
“We haven’t had the best start to the season in terms of available players. But our season depends a lot on the inclusion of new players.
“Because in Italy, especially if you score, you’re a phenomenon. If you make a mistake, you’re a disaster. We always go from one extreme to another.”
PSV head into the game sitting second in the Dutch Eredivisie but still searching for a win after two games of this season’s Champions League campaign.
