Napoli risk being incredibly depleted for the game against Juventus on January 6th. Two more players tested positive for COVID in the last couple of days. On top of that, three of their linchpins will partake in the African Cup of Nations.
The Azzurri announced that Fabian Ruiz and Hirving Lozano contracted Coronavirus while vacationing in their home countries. Lorenzo Insigne missed the last game before the break for the same reason. The cases do not appear to be connected, but the local health officials are monitoring the situation.
Director Antonio D’Amore told Sky Sport: “We are playing it by ear, and we are very worried about the Omicron variant. We can not make any hypothesis right now. It will hinge also on what the guidelines will be in a week. It will not be easy for those that are abroad to re-enter the country.”
Last year’s match between Napoli and Juventus in Turin was famously postponed due to a pair of infections. The recent Salernitana-Udinese was the first Serie A game affected by the COVID this season. The Granata were not allowed to travel.
Kalidou Koulibaly, Victor Osimhen and André-Franck Zambo Anguissa have been called up by their respective national teams. The first two are still recovering from injury, but Senegal and Nigeria are willing to wait for them. The striker has yet to receive the final green light to return. Mario Rui will be out as well due to yellow-card accumulation. Among the currently unavailable Napoli stars, only Insigne appears to have a chance of clearing the protocol in time to face Juventus.