Ghoulam: ‘I’ll return ASAP’

Napoli full-back Faouzi Ghoulam will return “as soon as possible” from his broken knee cap, but won’t talk about the Scudetto.

The Algerian international was close to returning from a cruciate ligament injury, but last week he fractured his knee cap and had to go back under the knife.

His teammates all worse shirts bearing his name ahead of the win over Lazio and the defender wants to be back on the pitch with them as quickly as he can be.

Napoli full-back Faouzi Ghoulam will return “as soon as possible” from his broken knee cap, but won’t talk about the Scudetto.

The Algerian international was close to returning from a cruciate ligament injury, but last week he fractured his knee cap and had to go back under the knife.

His teammates all worse shirts bearing his name ahead of the win over Lazio and the defender wants to be back on the pitch with them as quickly as he can be.

“My teammates’ gesture didn’t surprise me, we’re a family,” Ghoulam explained to Le Buteur.

“I’m calm because I have extraordinary teammates behind me who support me, and that gives me the strength to return as soon as possible.

“We’re believers and we need to move forward and be patient. I need to work to try and heal as soon as possible.”

Ghoulam was also asked about the exit from the Champions League, as well as the possibility of winning Serie A.

“It’s a shame because we had the potential to go further, I think we poured our focus into the league and that distracted us. Now we’re focused on the next targets.

“In Naples we say ‘we hope to win this year’. We can’t say the word ‘Scudetto’ though, so I avoid saying it out of respect for the superstition of the fans.”