Neres and Favasuli due back for Torino as Di Lorenzo is out until December

Allegri should have two players back for Napoli-Torino at the Maradona on Saturday 21 November, kick-off 20:45 CET (19:45 UK, 14:45 ET). They are David Neres and Costantino Favasuli.

Until a few days ago the captain, out with a tear to the adductor longus in his left thigh, was aiming for the 21 November game. His return is now expected in the first half of December. Stanislav Lobotka, out with a left ankle problem, should be available again at around the same time.

Alisson Santos had been expected back for Sassuolo. He will be assessed as he goes, but he will definitely miss all of November. Alessandro Buongiorno had surgery on his meniscus and is not expected back until 2027.

The schedule, step by step

After Neres and Favasuli, Benoît Badiashile and Leonardo Spinazzola are both due back in the week after Torino. That week brings Manchester City-Napoli at the Etihad on Tuesday 24 November at 21:00 CET, then Sassuolo-Napoli at the Mapei Stadium on Sunday 29 November. Mathías Olivera has been training with the squad since 6 November and is set to return for Sassuolo.

So the full squad will only come together towards December, and only if nobody else gets injured in the meantime.

Allegri has said more than once that everyone, or almost everyone, would be back after the break. The schedule says otherwise. Against Torino, Napoli will still be without their captain, their playmaker and a first-choice centre-back. Two returns from a list this long is not "almost everyone".

The gap matters. For weeks the team has been described as incomplete rather than wrong, and sooner or later that explanation will have to be tested.

It is true that the squad is incomplete. Against Lazio, Allegri fielded only three recognised defenders: Rrahmani, Marín and Beukema. In Porto he started without any of his four full-backs.

Favasuli's return gives Napoli at least one genuine full-back again. Neres adds a player who can beat his man to an attack that put six shots on target against Lazio without scoring. The equaliser was an own goal by Pedraza.

One question has stayed with us since Porto. So many injuries at once, nearly all of them muscular: how many are really bad luck, and how many come down to how the season was prepared?

Napoli face Torino in tenth place on 15 points. They are 9 points behind fourth-placed Milan, the club's stated target, and 14 behind Lazio. They have not won in three games, and 15 points after 11 matches equals the lowest total of the De Laurentiis era.

With Neres and Favasuli back, the absences shrink, but not enough to be an excuse. On 21 November nobody is asking for a full squad. They are asking for a win.