Scott McTominay Undergoes Minor Heart Surgery

Scott McTominay has undergone minor heart surgery and will miss Napoli’s Champions League opener against Arsenal at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona.

The Scotland international, who has already started two Serie A games this season, had a procedure on Monday, September 7 in England to correct what Napoli described as “a mild benign arrhythmia” – an irregular heartbeat the club stressed was non-serious.

No McTominay for Arsenal clash

Any faint hope of a rapid return has been shut down. Napoli will not field McTominay against Arsenal this week, denying Walter Mazzarri one of his key midfielders for the visit of last season’s beaten finalists.

McTominay himself tried to calm concern when news of the operation first broke. Writing on Instagram, he told supporters: “I won’t take long.” At an awards ceremony in Italy days later, he underlined that message: “I’m fine, the procedure was something I’d planned to do with the club for quite a while.”

Napoli’s initial statement was clear enough: the midfielder would be back only after the upcoming international break. Inside the club, the timeline is even more precise.

Sporting director Giovanni Manna told DAZN that McTominay faces around four weeks out while he takes anticoagulant medication.

“It will take 28 days for (McTominay to return to) sporting fitness because he will take anticoagulant drugs,” Manna said. “For two weeks, the player will rest and then resume competitive activity without contact.”

Anticoagulants – commonly referred to as blood thinners – are used to prevent blood clots, and require a strict, carefully monitored recovery period for elite athletes.

Blow for Scotland, boost for Arsenal

That four-week window rules McTominay out of Scotland’s upcoming Nations League schedule in the international break. Steve Clarke’s side are set to face Switzerland and North Macedonia before a double-header against Slovenia, all likely to go ahead without one of their most influential performers.

The Scottish national team moved quickly to back their midfielder once the surgery was confirmed, issuing a message of support: “Wishing you all the best in your recovery, Scott. Hope to see you back in a Scotland shirt soon.”

For Arsenal, his absence strips some physicality and drive from Napoli’s midfield on a night when fine margins tend to decide Champions League openers. The Gunners, though, still walk into a serious test in Naples.

Napoli can call on a formidable engine room built around fit-again duo Kevin De Bruyne and Billy Gilmour, a pairing capable of dictating tempo and punishing any lapse. McTominay will be watching, not influencing, as his teammates try to launch another deep European run without him.