De Bruyne Undergoes Hamstring Surgery; Napoli Top

Napoli stayed top of Serie A after a hard-fought 1-0 win at Lecce, with Andre-Frank Anguissa scoring in the 69th minute and Vanja Milinkovic-Savic saving a late penalty. The result followed a tempestuous 3-1 victory over Inter in which Kevin De Bruyne converted a penalty but was forced off immediately with a right hamstring problem. Napoli confirmed he sustained a high-grade tear of the biceps femoris, underwent planned surgery in Antwerp/Belgium that went well with club medical staff present, and has begun post-surgery rehabilitation. The club expects a three- to four-month layoff, a timeline likely to rule him out for the rest of 2025 and put his place at next summer’s World Cup in doubt. The setback compounds existing absences — Alex Meret, Amir Rrahmani and Stanislav Lobotka have missed time while Romelu Lukaku is back in training but yet to feature — forcing Antonio Conte to adapt his title-defence plans. Conte rejected media suggestions that long-term absences for veterans could somehow benefit the team as Napoli manage the immediate impact.