De Bruyne leads Napoli's title defence as Lukaku injury causes concern

KEVIN De Bruyne will lead Napoli’s Serie A title defence today when he makes his full debut at promoted Sassuolo, but the champions head into the new season rocked by a long-term injury to star striker Romelu Lukaku.

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De Bruyne was, alongside ageing icon Luka Modric, the big new name to arrive in Italy this summer and fans were hoping his linkup with Belgium teammate Lukaku would push Napoli to success both at home and in their return to the Champions League.

The 34-year-old has suffered from hamstring injuries which caused him to miss significant chunks of the last two campaigns with Manchester City, where he won six Premier League titles and in 2023 the Champions League.

But he was excellent in Napoli’s recent friendly against Girona, scoring twice and setting up the other in a 3-2 win, and, with Antonio Conte staying put, southern Italy’s biggest club look a strong bet to retain the Scudetto.

“Competitively it’s a very nice place to be. They were champions last year, they showed that they have a lot of quality.

“Obviously it’s very different to what I had in England but that’s something that is very exciting,” De Bruyne said last month.