Napoli are set to be without Arkadiusz Milik for their Champions League group stage opener against Liverpool on Tuesday night, according to Sport Mediaset.
The Italian news outlet claims that Milik, 25, is suffering from a muscle injury and while the Poland international is expected to return to training on Monday, it will not be soon enough for him to play against the Reds at the San Paolo the day after.
The former Ajax striker is yet to play a game for Napoli this season but did feature when the Serie A side took on Liverpool in a pre-season friendly in Edinburgh in the summer.
OPINION
This trip to Napoli is perhaps the toughest fixture that Liverpool will have to play in their Champions League group. Red Bull Salzburg and Genk are both decent sides but are unlikely to give the Reds, or Napoli, any problems when they play against them over the course of the next few months. Liverpool’s trip to Naples is made easier by Milik being injured. The Polish centre-forward scored 20 goals and supplied four assists in 47 appearances across all competitions for Carlo Ancelotti’s side last season as they finished second in Serie A and reached the quarter-finals of the Europa League. Dries Mertens started up front for Napoli in their last match before the international break when they lot 4-3 to Juventus so there’s a chance the Belgian ace will be there again on Tuesday with Milik set to sit out. Liverpool should be able to cope with Napoli even if they did have Milik but the face the prolific striker won’t be available is a boost to Jurgen Klopp’s side.
