Napoli's McTominay faces 28-day absence after heart surgery confirmed for next week

Scott McTominay will be sidelined for 28 days after Napoli confirmed the former Manchester United midfielder will undergo cardiac arrhythmia ablation (PFA) surgery next week, with sporting director Giovanni Manna outlining the recovery timeline on Monday.

Manna confirmed the 28-day return-to-fitness window is driven by the anticoagulant medication McTominay will need post-surgery. “It will take 28 days for sporting fitness because he will take anticoagulant drugs,” Manna said. “For two weeks, the player will rest and then resume competitive activity without contact.”

McTominay himself moved to reassure supporters after the procedure was announced. “I’m fine, the procedure was something I’d planned to do with the club for quite a while,” the Scotland international said. A club statement described the condition as “a mild benign arrhythmia” and confirmed the corrective surgery would take place in the coming days.

The timing softens the blow for Napoli. McTominay will miss the club’s midweek fixture against Arsenal, but the subsequent international break limits the number of Serie A games he is absent for. The 29-year-old had started two of Napoli’s first three league matches this season — a win at Genoa and a home defeat to Como — before sitting out the loss to Inter Milan while awaiting the procedure.

The surgery is not without precedent in professional football. Former Liverpool and England midfielder Adam Lallana underwent a similar procedure as a teenager, while Colby Bishop and Connor Goldson have both had open-heart surgery during their careers as a preventative measure.

Scotland will feel the absence more acutely. Sebastien Pocognoli’s side face four UEFA Nations League fixtures in late September and early October — two against Slovenia and one each against North Macedonia and Switzerland — and McTominay’s availability for those matches will depend on how his recovery progresses.

Manna also addressed McTominay’s contract situation, with the midfielder’s current deal running until the summer of 2028. “Scott said he doesn’t know if he’ll renew at this time,” Manna said. “He has a two-year contract, we want to do it, and he wants to do it too. It’s not always easy to make things coincide, but we’re trying.”

Napoli currently sit 11th in Serie A after three matches of the new season.