Napoli pair McTominay and Politano out of first pre-season friendly

Originally posted on Football Italia | By Susy Campanale | Last updated Jul 22, 2025 12:55 PM ET

Napoli have their first pre-season friendly today against Arezzo, starting Kevin De Bruyne , but Scott McTominay and Matteo Politano pulled out through injury.

The Partenopei won the Scudetto last term and are ready to start the defence of their title, as well as the extra challenge of participating in the Champions League and Supercoppa Italiana tournaments.

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Antonio Conte set his Napoli team out in their first pre-season friendly today at the Dimaro training camp in the Trentino mountains.

It was a 4-3-3 formation with new buys De Bruyne, Lorenzo Lucca, Noa Lang and Luca Marianucci in the starting XI.

However, McTominay and Politano were not even on the bench, as they have been struggling with muscular issues.

According to Sky Sport Italia, these are only minor fatigue problems caused by Conte’s intensive pre-season training schedule and no serious damage is expected.

The pair are therefore simply being rested for this opening match and there is nothing to be too concerned about.

This article first appeared on Football Italia and was syndicated with permission.

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