Napoli have confirmed that Scott McTominay’s procedure to correct an irregular heartbeat has gone successfully, but the Scotland midfielder will miss Wednesday’s Champions League meeting with Arsenal.
The 29-year-old underwent an ablation in Manchester after a mild, non-serious arrhythmia was identified following Napoli’s Serie A defeat at Como on 30 August. The club’s immediate plan is for McTominay to rest for two weeks before returning to training, making an appearance against Arsenal impossible.
A positive medical outcome, but no instant return
The central message from Napoli is reassuring: the intervention was successful and McTominay is expected to resume his football programme this month. That matters more than the short-term sporting loss, particularly given the nature of an arrhythmia and the need for a carefully managed recovery.
There is, however, a distinction between returning to training and being ready for a competitive match. Reports agree that McTominay will first have a period away from physical work, but differ slightly on the timetable beyond that point.
One account places him on course to return after the international break, potentially in early October. Another cites Napoli sporting director Giovanni Manna outlining a four-week process, including medication and an initial phase without contact. Neither version suggests that Napoli will rush him back simply because the procedure itself went well.
That difference is important. A successful operation removes the immediate procedural concern; it does not set an exact date for match fitness. Napoli have offered a broad recovery route rather than a fixture-specific guarantee, and the club’s medical staff will ultimately determine when he can resume full-intensity work.
Arsenal absence is clear, Scotland wait is less so
There is no uncertainty over the Arsenal game. McTominay had started two Serie A matches this season before the issue was detected, but he will not be available when Napoli host Mikel Arteta’s side.
His likely absence from Scotland’s next Nations League window is also a significant consequence. Reports expect Scotland to play Switzerland, North Macedonia and Slovenia twice across late September and early October, although the exact order of those fixtures has been presented differently. The wider point is consistent: the international schedule falls within a recovery period in which caution is likely to take priority.
For Scotland, that removes a senior midfielder at the beginning of Sebastien Pocognoli’s tenure as head coach. For Napoli, it means adjusting a midfield group for a major European night without a player who had already been involved from the start domestically.
Napoli still have alternatives. Kevin De Bruyne and Billy Gilmour are available again, according to reports, offering different ways to shape the midfield. Yet replacing McTominay is not merely a question of selecting another central player. His absence changes the balance of the side, especially if Napoli had intended to use his physical running and penalty-box presence against Arsenal.
The fixture context adds a different question
McTominay’s situation should not be reduced to an advantage or disadvantage for either club. The medical recovery remains the story. But his confirmed absence does remove one variable from a match that has unusually divergent indicators around Arsenal.
Arsenal have won five, drawn six and lost nine of their last 20 Premier League games, with six straight league defeats entering this fixture. Those results make the visitors’ broader difficulties hard to ignore, even while the Champions League represents a separate competition and a single game cannot be read directly from league form.
The Napoli vs Arsenal forecast assigns a 4% chance to a Napoli win, 18% to a draw and 78% to an Arsenal victory, with model confidence at 56%. That projection points strongly towards Arsenal, but it cannot account fully for the footballing adjustment Napoli make in McTominay’s absence or for the uncertainty surrounding a team arriving on such a poor domestic run.
For McTominay, the more meaningful benchmark will be an uncomplicated return to training after the prescribed rest, followed by a gradual rebuild of fitness. Napoli’s update gives reason for optimism, but the next steps will be governed by recovery rather than by the urgency of Arsenal or Scotland fixtures.