On Wednesday, Napoli will travel to the Stadio San Siro to face AC Milan in an all-Italian quarter-finals clash. This is the first appearance at this juncture for the Partenopei, who have never progressed to the quarter-finals in the Champions League prior to this season.
Just under two weeks ago, Napoli, who are pretty much set to win their first Scudetto in nearly 30 years, were beaten 4-0 by Milan. As such, the Partenopei will look to make amends when they face the Diavolo, but have been dealt a very disappointing setback just days before the game is set to begin.
Key striker Victor Osimhen, who suffered a knee injury while on international duty for Nigeria, was unable to take part in Napoli's loss to Milan. The African star, who is a clear contender for the Capocannoniere, recently did return to training, but according to Italian reports, was unable to join his colleagues and instead did a solo session before continuing his workout in the gym.
Napoli had hoped to have Osimhen recovered in time - despite admitting that it would be a miracle - but unfortunately for Luciano Spalletti, it doesn't look like he will have his star man available in time for Wednesday.
In addition, Spalletti is facing another selection concern as Giovanni Simeone, who has proven to be a reliable deputy, has also been ruled out sustaining a knock during Napoli's 2-1 win over Lecce on Friday.
Both Simeone and Osimhen have been vital to Napoli's attack in the Champions League this season. The Partenopei have netted a whopping 25 goals - more than any other side - with Osimhen and Simeone scoring four times each.
With the possibility of not just one, but two strikers ruled out for this match, it will be very interesting to see what kind of starting XI Spalletti will use in Wednesday's crunch clash at the Stadio San Siro.
