Scott McTominay Undergoes Heart Surgery, Misses Arsenal Clash

Scott McTominay has undergone minor heart surgery and will miss Napoli’s Champions League opener against Arsenal at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona.

The Scotland international, who has already started two Serie A games this season, had long planned the procedure with Napoli’s medical staff to correct what the club described as “a mild benign arrhythmia” – an irregular heartbeat considered non-serious. The operation took place in England on Monday, September 7, just two days before Arsenal are due to fly to Naples.

No McTominay for Arsenal clash

There is no debate over his availability: Napoli will not field McTominay against Arsenal this week.

The midfielder addressed supporters on Instagram when the news first broke, reassuring them with a brief promise: “I won’t take long.” At an awards ceremony in Italy shortly afterwards, he underlined that message, saying: “I’m fine, the procedure was something I’d planned to do with the club for quite a while.”

Napoli initially confirmed he would be back after the upcoming international break. Sporting director Giovanni Manna has since put a clearer timeframe on it, explaining that McTominay faces around four weeks out while medication takes effect.

“It will take 28 days for (McTominay to return to) sporting fitness because he will take anticoagulant drugs,” Manna told DAZN. “For two weeks, the player will rest and then resume competitive activity without contact.”

Anticoagulants – commonly known as blood thinners – are used to prevent blood clots and require a strict, carefully managed return to full-contact training.

Blow for Scotland, boost for Arsenal

The four-week lay-off means McTominay is expected to sit out Scotland’s entire upcoming Nations League window. Steve Clarke’s side are scheduled to face Switzerland and North Macedonia before a double-header against Slovenia, all without one of their most influential midfielders.

The Scottish national team moved quickly to back their player, issuing a message of support once his surgery plans were confirmed: “Wishing you all the best in your recovery, Scott. Hope to see you back in a Scotland shirt soon.”

His absence removes a major physical and tactical presence from Napoli’s engine room on the night Arsenal return to Europe’s biggest stage after last season’s heartbreak as beaten Champions League finalists. Any sense of relief for Mikel Arteta’s side, though, comes with a warning label.

Napoli can still call on a formidable midfield, built around the fit-again pairing of Kevin De Bruyne and Billy Gilmour. Arsenal avoid McTominay’s drive and late runs into the box, but they walk into a different kind of storm in Naples – one shaped by vision, tempo and technique rather than sheer force.

For McTominay, the race now is not for this week, but for the weeks that follow: back to full contact, back to club form, and back into that Scotland shirt.