Napoli visit FC Porto in the Champions League, with kick-off at the Estadio do Dragao in Porto at 20.00 GMT. The Italian side went into the match amid an injury crisis, and both Max Allegri and sporting director Giovanni Manna said the problems must not become excuses.
Allegri explains his team selection
Allegri told Amazon Prime Video Italia: "Unfortunately, it’s a risk to start Noa Lang because he had strong cramp on Sunday, he played four games in a row, so I preferred to rest him today."
He also said: "De Bruyne told me his ankle is fine, I spoke to him, so I put him in the starting XI."
Injury problems before Porto match
Football Italia reported that Giovanni Di Lorenzo and Mathias Olivera were the latest absentees after Napoli's 2-0 defeat at Juventus.
Football Italia also reported that Stanislav Lobotka, Leonardo Spinazzola, Alisson Santos, Benoit Badiashile, Costantino Favasuli, David Neres and Alessandro Buongiorno were on the treatment table, while Luca Marianucci was ineligible for this tournament.
Allegri said: "We have many players who were and are out for a long time, so we’ve got to try to make the results co-exist with the fitness levels of the players. There are some objective difficulties, but they mustn’t become alibis."
He added: "We have two more games to play before the break for international duty, hopefully we’ll recover a few players after that."
Manna on De Bruyne and the injury crisis
Manna said: "There is still a long way to go in the Champions League, and today is important, especially given the difficult period we are going through. For our self-confidence, it is important to put in a good performance."
On De Bruyne, Manna said: "Kevin is a top-class player who can play anywhere on the pitch. Perhaps tonight he is in a position better suited to the qualities he has long been known for, but he has shown in Serie A that he can also play as a deep-lying playmaker. Today’s line-up is also a reflection of who we are."
On the injuries, Manna said: "As for injuries, we have also had problems caused by knocks. Some players had more problems last year than in the past: Anguissa, for example, had never had any, whereas Neres had. But it is not an excuse ."
January plans and Gila comment
Manna said: "A signing in January, perhaps up front? The only area where we are not short is attack… We are always assessing things, and we will certainly work to do something , but let’s see where we are when the time comes. We will do what needs to be done while staying within our parameters, as always."
Speaking to Sky Sport, Manna also said: "We tried to sign Gila at the beginning, that’s the truth and it’s something we all know. It was a bit of a tempting situation, let’s say, but we just didn’t have the right timing, the right moments. Milan were good and quick and managed to please everyone."
