Napoli Dealt Major Blow As Star Defender Ruled Out For Extended Period Of Time With Adductor Injury

Napoli have been handed a huge blow ahead of their upcoming clash against AC Milan, as Alessandro Buongiorno has been ruled out through injury.

Alessandro Buongiorno Injury Update

The Italian defender was forced off in the 81st minute during Napoli’s 3-2 win over Pisa, with what appeared to be a muscular problem in his left leg.

Italian soccer expert, Gianluca Di Marzio, has now revealed that Buongiorno suffered a ‘low-grade muscular injury’ to his adductor and will be out of action for over a month.

Injuries have plagued the 26-year-old’s career in recent times, missing 30 matches across the last two seasons and Buongiorno was starting to make a full return after missing the start of the 2025/26 season.

Buongiorno’s injury comes at an unfortunate time for both Antonio Conte, but also Gennaro Gattuso, as Giovanni Leoni suffered an injury on his Liverpool debut.

The young Italian defender landed awkwardly during Liverpool’s 2-1 win over Southampton in the Carabao Cup, with Fabrizio Romano revealing that Leoni has suffered a torn ACL and will be out for several months.

Despite Gattuso preferring the center back duo of Riccardo Calafiori and Alessandro Bastoni, losing two players in that position will not be received well by the Azzurri manager.

Buongiorno made three consecutive starts for Napoli after Amir Rrahmani was injured on international duty, but the Kosovo international returned to the bench against Pisa and will likely come in during Buongiorno’s absence.

This injury comes at a frustrating time for Antonio Conte, as Napoli prepare for a Serie A clash against AC Milan on September 28th and the Rossoneri go into the fixture with huge momentum.

Massimiliano Allegri’s side suffered a disappointing defeat to Cremonese on the opening day, but have been flawless ever since – winning three consecutive league matches and Coppa Italia clash without conceding.

What Games Will Buongiorno Miss?

After Buongiorno was ruled out for over a month, Napoli supporters began to look into the clubs’ upcoming fixture and see what matches the Italian will miss.

The defender will not only miss the match against AC Milan, but also matches against Genoa and Torino in Serie A, alongside Champions League fixtures against Sporting Lisbon and possibly, PSV.

Not only will the Napoli star miss multiple matches for his club, but the 27-year-old is expected to be unavailable for Italy’s upcoming World Cup Qualifer double-header.

The Azzurri face Estonia and Israel between October 11th-14th, as the 2021 European Champions look to make strides towards next year’s World Cup in North America.

Italy currently sit second of Group I with nine points, level with third-placed Israel (with a game in hand) and six-points behind table-topping Norway.

Gattuso will be well-aware that anything other than two wins is unacceptable, as Italy look to achieve World Cup qualification for the first time since 2014.