NAPLES, Italy (AP) — Amid an increasing injury crisis, Napoli coach Antonio Conte will be relieved to hear Giovanni Di Lorenzo has avoided serious knee ligament damage and the team captain might only be out for a month.
Di Lorenzo was stretchered off the field in tears during the first half of Saturday’s 2-1 victory over Fiorentina in Serie A and was seen leaving the stadium on crutches.
Conte said afterward that medical staff feared Di Lorenzo had torn his anterior cruciate ligament, which would have meant the end of the season for the Napoli and Italy defender.
However, Napoli said that tests on Sunday had “revealed a second-degree sprain to his left knee.”
Italian media reports said Di Lorenzo could return in four to five weeks, which is also good news for Italy ahead of next month’s World Cup playoffs.
Napoli has struggled with injuries — some long term — all season and the players sidelined include Kevin De Bruyne, Frank Anguissa, David Neres, Billy Gilmour, Matteo Politano and Amir Rrahmani.
Another key player, Romelu Lukaku, only just returned last weekend from a thigh injury sustained during a preseason friendly.
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