Scott McTominay's Future Uncertain Amid Health Concerns
Manna has pulled back the curtain on Scott McTominay’s future, admitting contract talks with the Napoli midfielder have drifted into uncertain territory.
The sporting director, speaking to DAZN, made it clear both sides want the relationship to continue beyond the current deal, which runs until 2028. Making it happen is another story.
“McTominay’s contract renewal? Scott said he doesn’t know if he’ll renew at this time,” Manna revealed, cutting through the speculation. The message from the club remains positive, but not sugar-coated. “He has a two-year contract, we want to do it, and he wants to do it too. It’s not always easy to make things coincide, but we’re trying.”
So the will is there. The agreement is not. Not yet.
Health scare and a calculated pause
While the boardroom wrestles with figures and clauses, McTominay’s immediate battle is a medical one.
The 29-year-old has been diagnosed with a mild benign arrhythmia, an irregular heartbeat that, if managed correctly, should not derail his career. Napoli moved quickly, sending him to London for a planned procedure designed to limit disruption to the season and protect their key midfielder in the long term.
Inside the club, there is calm. They expect him back in full competitive action by mid-October.
McTominay has done his part to keep the noise down. Speaking at an awards ceremony, he played down any sense of alarm. “I’m fine, the procedure was something I’d planned to do with the club for quite a while,” he said, framing it as a preventative step rather than a crisis.
Napoli feel the void
The timing still hurts.
McTominay was already missing for Napoli’s chaotic 3-2 defeat to Inter Milan, a second straight loss for Massimiliano Allegri’s side. Without their driving force in midfield, Napoli looked stretched and exposed, the balance of their engine room clearly disturbed.
Now they must navigate a brutal run without him: Arsenal, Bologna, Fiorentina. Three very different tests, all demanding control, intensity, and leadership in the middle of the pitch. McTominay normally supplies all three.
His absence isn’t just a gap on the teamsheet. It changes the personality of this Napoli side.
Scotland stripped of their talisman
The damage stretches beyond Serie A.
For Scotland, losing McTominay now is a body blow. The midfielder has amassed 73 caps and grown into a central figure for the Tartan Army, a player who delivers in defining moments. He scored the crucial goals that sealed Scotland’s place at the 2026 World Cup; that kind of pedigree doesn’t have an easy replacement.
He will miss four key Nations League fixtures against Slovenia, Switzerland and North Macedonia, matches that open the Sebastien Pocognoli era. A new head coach, a fresh cycle, and no McTominay to lean on when the pressure tightens.
For Pocognoli, it means ripping up the first draft of his plans. For Scotland, it means testing their depth earlier than anyone wanted.
A strict roadmap back
Manna outlined a clear, carefully staged recovery plan, one that leaves no room for shortcuts.
“It will take 28 days for sporting fitness because he will take anticoagulant drugs,” the director explained. The first fortnight after surgery is non-negotiable: total rest, allowing the body to settle and heal.
Only after those two weeks will McTominay be allowed to step back onto the training pitch, and even then only for non-contact work. Light sessions, fitness drills, a gradual reintroduction to the rhythm of elite sport. The final stage – full-contact football – will wait on medical clearance and the safe conclusion of his medication regime.
Napoli and Scotland must now cope without him, counting down those 28 days and hoping that when McTominay finally returns, the only question left will be about his contract, not his heart.
