Napoli says McTominay’s heart surgery was a success

Napoli have said Scott McTominay’s heart surgery was a complete success. According to BBC Sport, the procedure took place on Tuesday morning at Spire Manchester Hospital.

Back on the training pitch

The club expects the Scotland midfielder to resume training this month after a short recovery period. Napoli’s statement said McTominay will rest for two weeks before getting back to training.

His last appearance came on 30 August, when he was substituted after 56 minutes during Napoli’s 2-1 Serie A loss to Como.

The issue behind it

Napoli said the operation was prompted by a mild but benign arrhythmia. The BBC Sport piece notes that an arrhythmia is when the heart beats too quickly or too slowly, or the heartbeat isn’t steady, and that an ablation typically uses heat or cold energy to create tiny scars to stop faulty signals.

The timing also matters for Scotland. Under new head coach Sebastien Pocognoli, Scotland’s next Nations League fixtures and matches in late September/early October are coming up soon. When the heart problem was announced, McTominay posted on Instagram: “See you soon Napoli. I won’t take long”.