Conte: ‘Di Lorenzo out for 2 months, cannot force Lukaku return’
Antonio Conte reveals Giovanni Di Lorenzo will be out ‘for circa two months’ and Napoli must not ‘force’ Romelu Lukaku back too quickly, but Genoa’s Daniele De Rossi is ‘destined for greatness.’
It kicks off at the Stadio Luigi Ferraris, also known as Marassi, at 17.00 GMT (18.00 CET).
The injury crisis drags on for the Partenopei, who are still without Giovanni Di Lorenzo, David Neres, Kevin De Bruyne, Andre Frank Zambo Anguissa and Billy Gilmour.
Matteo Politano and Vanja Milinkovic-Savic are only fit for the bench with new buys Giovane and Alisson Santos, but at least Amir Rrahmani returns to the starting XI.
Conte on Napoli injuries and De Rossi admiration
“Genoa are a side who above all on home turf rediscovered enthusiasm, Daniele De Rossi called it their fortress, so we know the difficulties we will face today,” Conte told DAZN Italia.
“At the same time, we are not changing our style of football, we’ll press high, try to win the ball back quickly and do what we always did.”
There had been fears Di Lorenzo’s season would be over, but fortunately the knee injury was only a sprain.
The captain took advantage of this enforced lay-off to have surgery on a foot issue that had been dragging on too.
“We have Rrahmani back, but lost Di Lorenzo, a very important figure both on and off the field. I want to see a reaction from the team today to this loss, which will be for circa two months,” revealed Conte.
“We must always try to find the best solution and give our best in reaction to difficulties. Today is going to be a very tough match.”
Lukaku played 90 minutes in a friendly match recently, but how long will it take to get the striker back with a strong role in competitive games after his pre-season injury?
“Romelu is going through the recovery process, you all know how much Napoli missed him since mid-August. The tendon in his left leg was detached, that’s his kicking leg, so we need patience and let him have the right time to recover from a very serious injury. I cannot force him, it’s something the player has to feel, how his body is reacting.
“We hope that he can be more available, as we could use him and Hojlund in a trio together, there are many situations, but right now he is not the Romelu that we know.”
This is the first time that Conte has faced De Rossi as a coach, and the Genoa boss called him a ‘legend’ ahead of this showdown.
“I think Daniele is destined for greatness as a coach,” replied Conte.
“I was fortunate enough to train him when I was the Italy coach for two years. His father is a coach too, so he will certainly have a great career.
“I’m glad when there is recognition, because players are ultimately the only people who can give a real verdict on the work of a coach.”