Spinazzola Injury Deepens Napoli’s Selection Issues Ahead of Fiorentina Match

Napoli’s fragile revival has taken another hit. Leonardo Spinazzola will not travel to Florence after suffering a mild strain in the hamstring of his right thigh, leaving the Partenopei even lighter on options down the left.

The club confirmed on Friday that the full-back did not train with the rest of the squad, and several Italian outlets, including Il Mattino and Sky, report that the injury rules him out of Sunday’s lunchtime clash away to Fiorentina (12:30 CET, 11:30 BST).

For a side already walking a tightrope with fitness issues, it is a significant setback. Spinazzola’s experience and ability to stretch the pitch had offered a reassuring outlet in recent weeks. Now Napoli must improvise again.

The problems do not end there. Frank Zambo Anguissa continued to work on an individual programme, Napoli said, leaving the midfielder highly unlikely to feature at the Stadio Artemio Franchi. His absence strips yet more muscle and balance from the centre of the pitch in what promises to be a high-tempo game.

List of Absentees

The list of absentees is starting to read like a full matchday squad. Alessandro Buongiorno, Luca Marianucci, Scott McTominay, Giovane, Alex Meret and Alisson Santos are all ruled out of the trip to Florence, forcing the coaching staff into another round of reshuffles and emergency plans.

Napoli at least travel with a hint of renewed confidence. They snapped a three-game losing streak across all competitions last weekend with a hard-fought 1-0 win over Bologna at the Stadio Maradona, a result that steadied nerves and stopped the slide.

Now comes a different kind of test: can a patched-up, depleted Napoli carry that momentum into one of Serie A’s more demanding away grounds, or will the growing injury list drag them back into trouble?