Napoli’s pursuit of their rivals has been served a real blow with news they could potentially be without star defender Kalidou Koulibaly until February, reports Tuttosport, via Football Italia.
Koulibaly, who was heavily linked with a move to the Premier League in the summer, picked up a knee injury in Napoli’s 5-0 demolition away to Cagliari at the weekend, lasting just 42 minutes of the match.
The 25-year-old will now almost certainly miss Napoli’s remaining two fixtures before the winter break against Torino and Fiorentina, but may not return until as late as February, depending on how far Senegal fare at the Africa Cup of Nations.
The Africa Cup of Nations, held in Gabon next year, is due to start midway through January and could see Koulibaly, who signed a new five-year deal with the club in Napoli, ruled out until the middle of February if Senegal go all the way to the final.
Since the start of last season only Francesco Acerbi (263) has won possession in the defensive third more times than Koulibaly (226) in Serie A.
For more stats on Kalidou Koulibaly, click here to visit his WhoScored player page
