Scott McTominay makes history with award win as worrying injury update emerges ahead of Scotland friendlies
Scotland talisman wins another award with Napoli
Scott McTominay’s impressive honours list continues to grow at Napoli after his sumptuous strike against Genoa saw him win the Serie A goal of the month gong for February.
Joining the Italian giants two summers ago in a deal worth around £32million from Manchester United, the 29-year-old has become one of Europe’s most highly-rated midfielders, playing a pivotal role in helping Antonio Conte’s side claim the scudetto last season. He was also nominated for the Ballon d’Or award and crowned the Serie A’s most valuable player in his debut season.
Signing alongside Scotland international teammate Billy Gilmour in September 2024, the talismanic midfielder has continued to produce for his side this season, scoring 10 times in all competitions despite Napoli struggling to keep pace with runaway leaders Inter Milan.
Adding to his list of individual awards won during his Napoli career, the former Old Trafford man has now become the first Scottish player in history to win the Serie A goal of the month award three times. His long-range effort against Genoa has joined his acrobatic strike against Cagliari in May last year and his half-volley against Inter in October earlier this season as being crowned the league’s goal of the month.
Without McTominay due to injury in the last few weeks, the reigning Italian champions have struggled in his absence and have fallen 14 points behind Cristian Chivu’s side in third place, winning just one of their last four games since he was forced off at half-time during that 3-2 win over Genoa with a tendon issue last month.
“I haven’t seen McTominay training with us at all since he went off against Genoa,” admitted Napoli boss Conte last week. “He has an inflammation, but we can’t figure out when he’ll be back. You need to speak to the medical staff, not with me, all I can do is say that Scott has not trained with us at all.”
Despite his manager’s claims, several reports stated that McTominay was in line to return to the matchday squad for the clash this Friday (March 6) against Torino. However, a worrying injury update has now emerged, which will leave Scotland head coach Steve Clarke sweating ahead of the pre-World Cup warm-up friendlies against Japan and Ivory Coast later this month.
According to Italian site Corriere dello Sport, he has now been ruled out of the game at the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium on Friday night. Reports claim progress on his return from the inflammation issue has been slower than anticipated, adding that the club are continuing to manage the issue. The news of McTominay’s ongoing injury management now puts some doubt on his involvement in Scotland’s first friendly against Japan, with the team scheduled to face Hajime Moriyasu’s side in just 23 days at Hampden Park.
The 62-year-old Scotland head coach has already been dealt a blow with the news that Aaron Hickey (hamstring) and Craig Gordon (shoulder) will miss the fixtures, while the games are expected to come too soon for the injured duo, Lawrence Shankland and Ben Gannon-Doak. Clarke also faces an anxious wait on the fitness of John McGinn.
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