Viktor Osimhen and the Napoli lawyers managed to get his suspension reduced from two games to one. Therefore, he will be available to play this Saturday, when the Partenopei will host Juventus.
Osimhen was originally sent off in the first half of the opener against Venezia. He caught an opponent in the face while trying to get away from him while the two were tangled up in a corner kick. The referee considered it an intentional slap while the ball was distant, triggering a two-game ban.
The FIGC Court of Appeal will release the full motivations at a later date. The defense lawyers suggested the gesture was inadvertent. They brought visual evidence and some precedents. Ciro Immobile and Stefano Sensi missed just one game for similar incidents.
Osimhen served his suspension in the previous fixture against Genoa. Napoli deployed a committee to replace him. Hirving Lozano and Lorenzo Insigne alternated as false-nine from the get-go. Andrea Petagna solved the match off the bench with a late header.
Like many other players, Osimhen will return late from international duties. Therefore, it is not a guarantee he will get the start. According to Sky Sport, Juventus are considering resting all their South Americans, Paulo Dybala, Danilo, Juan Cuadrado, Alex Sandro and Rodrigo Bentancur.
In other lineup news, Piotr Zielinski has yet to recover fully from a thigh knock. Dries Mertens and Faouzi Ghoulam have resumed practicing fully following their major injuries. They could both make the squad list, although they are not ready for full minutes.