Napoli midfielder Jens Cajuste has been ruled out for a few weeks with a muscular injury in his right thigh, which could cause issues for Francesco Calzona ahead of the Champions League Round of 16 second leg against Barcelona in March.
The Partenopei confirmed in a club statement that Cajuste has undergone medical examinations, and that he did not train with the group during Thursday morning’s session.
As per information from Gianluca Di Marzio, the injury is expected to keep Cajuste out of action for at least two weeks.
He will therefore miss out on Serie A clashes against Juventus and Torino, and also likely the Champions League match against Barca on March 12.
Cajuste’s injury will be a blow ahead of the Barcelona game in particular, as coach Calzona will also not be able to call on senior midfielders Piotr Zielinski and Leander Dendoncker, who were both left off Napoli’s Champions League squad list by Walter Mazzarri at the beginning of February.
As it stands, Napoli’s available list of senior midfielders for the Champions League consists of Stanislav Lobotka, Andre-Franck Zambo Anguissa, Hamed Traore and Jesper Lindstrom.
The latter, though officially listed as a midfielder, has most regularly been deployed on the right wing since arriving from Eintracht Frankfurt in the summer.
Napoli will travel to Catalonia to face Barcelona on March 12, with kick-off set for 20.00 GMT.
#UCL #SerieA | Il @sscnapoli perde anche #Cajuste per la sfida al #Barcellona: senza #Zielinski e #Dendoncker sarà emergenza https://t.co/YByShoKhH7
— Gianluca Di Marzio (@DiMarzio) February 29, 2024