Cavani blow for Napoli

Napoli have been rocked by the news that Edinson Cavani will sit out their Serie A showdown with Juventus on Tuesday.

The Uruguay striker – scorer of nine goals in all competitions for Napoli this campaign – suffered a tibia injury in last Tuesday’s Champions League win over Manchester City and aggravated the problem in his side’s league clash with Atalanta on Saturday.

Napoli coach Walter Mazzarri was prepared to give Cavani up until just a few hours before kick-off at Stadio San Paolo to prove his fitness for the ninth-placed Serie A side.

But, having woken up on Tuesday still feeling pain in his ankle, the player was forced to pull out of the squad for the visit of table-topping Juve.

Cavani’s injury enforced absence from the starting line-up is likely to result in a recall for Goran Pandev, who has yet to score for Napoli since arriving on loan from Inter Milan in the off-season.

In better news for Napoli, influential Swiss midfielder Gokhan Inler has been passed fit to face Juve.