Napoli suffer midfield injury blow ahead of Inter title clash

Antonio Conte will have to do without midfielder Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa for Napoli’s top-of-the-table Serie A title clash against Inter on Saturday due to an injury he picked up in the final minutes against Como on Sunday.

The Partenopei have confirmed that the Cameroon international has suffered an injury to the soleus muscle in his right leg, which will rule him out of the Inter clash at the weekend, arguably Napoli’s biggest game of the season.

The injury occurred in the final minutes of Napoli’s 2-1 loss away to Como on Sunday, Napoli have confirmed.

Conte left Zambo Anguissa out of his starting line-up in order to protect him for the Inter match this weekend. The midfielder was on four yellow cards for the season, which meant he was one booking away from being suspended for the Nerazzurri clash, and so the coach gave a first opportunity to Philip Billing instead.

With Napoli trailing in the second half, Conte decided to introduce Zambo Anguissa, but his brief appearance has come at the expense of a spell on the sidelines.

It has not yet been confirmed how long the 29-year-old is expected to be out of action, but reports elsewhere claim that his situation will be monitored on a day-by-day basis.

Billing, currently on loan from AFB Bournemouth, is the natural replacement for Zambo Anguissa in midfield, as Scotland international Billy Gilmour has only played for 10 minutes across the last seven Serie A matches.