Napoli lose Olivera too: groin strain

Napoli have lost another defender. Mathias Olivera left Uruguay's training camp early after picking up a physical problem in training with the Celeste on October 2, at the end of an Asian tour in which he had played the full 90 minutes in friendlies against Japan and South Korea. Tests carried out by the South American federation, and passed on to Napoli's medical staff, point to a "strain of the right external obturator muscle": a muscle injury the club, in an official statement, described as mild. The Uruguayan full back has already returned to Castel Volturno, where he will begin rehabilitation straight away, missing his national team's last friendly against India.

Sources differ on the recovery timeline, so it is better not to set a date before Napoli's medical staff carry out further assessments. What is certain is that Olivera will miss Saturday October 10's match against Frosinone at the Maradona, and in all likelihood the Champions League trip to face Villarreal the following week too.

For Massimiliano Allegri, it is a heavy blow. Olivera was one of the few options on the left flank, also useful as a left-sided centre back if Napoli switch to a back three. With him sidelined, the club now has ten unavailable players, the longest injury list in Serie A during this international break. Besides Olivera, Napoli are waiting on the recovery of Spinazzola, sidelined by a hamstring strain but close to returning and in contention for Frosinone, of Anguissa, Meret, Marianucci and McTominay (expected back by mid October), of Alisson and Giovane (end of the month), while the timeline stretches further for Favasuli, out since December, and Buongiorno, who will not be back before January 2027.

For fantacalcio managers who have him on their roster, Olivera was already a tricky pick before this setback: he starts from a price tag of 4, among the lowest in Napoli's back line, and had already dropped in value both since the start of the season and after the last matchday, a sign that his form was not convincing even before the injury. With him out, the left side of Napoli's defence will almost certainly fall to the recovered Spinazzola, who suddenly finds himself the starter with no direct alternative on that flank. The safer picks in a defence already decimated by injuries remain the two fixed starters, Di Lorenzo and Rrahmani, the only centre backs Allegri can currently treat as truly undroppable.

Anyone eyeing a Napoli defender for the next matchday should look there first: Di Lorenzo and Rrahmani above all, Spinazzola as a starting left back gamble, while leaving Olivera out of the fantacalcio rotation until a firmer return date emerges.