MY ACCOUNT
Napoli winger Khvicha Kvaratskhelia will miss the Serie A leaders’ trip to second-placed Atalanta on Saturday because of a back problem that marks a painful end to a miserable week for the Georgian.
The 21-year-old talent has made a thrilling impact since joining Napoli from Dinamo Batumi in July, playing a key role in his team leading the Italian top flight and topping their Champions League group.
With eight goals and eight assists in 17 games across all competitions, Kvaratskhelia has barely put a foot wrong for Luciano Spalletti’s team.
This has been a difficult week though, with Napoli’s 13-game winning run coming to an end when they lost 2-0 at Liverpool on Tuesday, albeit with the hosts’ late goals coming after Kvaratskhelia was substituted.
It was reported by Gazzetta dello Sport that Kvaratskhelia then suffered a break-in at his home on Wednesday night, with his Mini car stolen and later retrieved by police.
Now the youngster will miss at least one game, with Napoli stating on their website: “Khvicha Kvaratskhelia is ruled out of the trip to Bergamo after suffering from acute lower back pain.”
It remains to be seen whether he returns for Tuesday’s game against Empoli, or the following Saturday’s clash with Udinese, both of which will be played at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona.
Such has been Kvaratskhelia’s impact at Napoli, he has been compared to club legend Maradona, earning the nickname ‘Kvaradona’. Argentine forward Maradona was the driving force of Napoli when the Naples club won the 1986-87 and 1989-90 Serie A titles, their only Scudetto triumphs to date.
