It was good while it lasted and what’s comforting is that it’s just a goodbye, not a goodbye. But the bitterness remains intense and difficult to bear for all the protagonists of the story, given that the paths of Napoli and Kevin De Bruyne – after just 8 championship matches and 3 in the Champions League – part ways here: who knows for how long. In fact, the Azzurri left with 700 fans in tow for Lecce, where this afternoon (at 6.30 pm) the midweek round of Serie A is scheduled to take place. The Belgian champion instead sadly set off from Capodichino and with the unpleasant company of crutches on a private flight to Brussels. And from there in the next few hours he should move directly to an operating room: provided that the last emergency consultation scheduled in his country does not lead KDB to opt for a conservative therapy, which however would put his participation in the 2026 World Cup at risk and is therefore destined to be discarded.
The top Italian player reacted with the clarity of a champion even off the pitch. The immediate sensations immediately after last Saturday’s big scare at the Maradona stadium had already been very negative and the medical tests carried out yesterday morning confirmed them, as can be seen from Napoli’s official press release. “Following the injury – we read – De Bruyne underwent instrumental tests at the Pineta Grande Hospital which highlighted a high-grade lesion of the biceps femoris of the right thigh. The footballer has already started the rehabilitation process”. Thus, 2025 ends here for the Belgian champion, who at 34 years old is forced to face a new tough test to return to the pitch: similar to the one he laboriously passed during his time at City. A minimum three-month stoppage and, as mentioned, the probable hypothesis of emergency surgery.
Conte lost him on the eve of Lecce and above all for the next 5 matches of the Champions League group, the competition for which De Bruyne had been wanted by Aurelio De Laurentiis. The young defender Luca Marianucci should be included in the UEFA list. For the Italian champions it is the sad remake of the low blow suffered in mid-August due to the long stoppage of Romelu Lukaku, who will slowly resume training only next week. Compatriots and best friends, KDB and Big Rom. But to play an official match together for Napoli they will have to mockingly wait for spring.
The bad news also shook Conte and his teammates, who were saddened by De Bruyne’s serious injury. Everyone promised to give their all until his return, but yet another low blow at this start to the season will not be easy to digest. We also have to deal with the trail of poison following the victory against Inter, with the media attacks for the penalty awarded to the Azzurri which continue and have provoked the club’s official reaction. “Napoli firmly condemns the statements made by former referee Mauro Bergonzi to Domenica Sportiva, in which he questioned the correctness of Giovanni Di Lorenzo, accusing him of unsporting behavior. It is not acceptable to question the integrity and professionalism of an exemplary footballer like our captain.” For the match in Lecce, the very young Sardinian referee Giuseppe Collu was appointed: a courageous choice.
