Napoli: Kevin De Bruyne returns to the pitch.

One week after Romelu Lukaku marked his return from injury with a crucial stoppage-time goal to defeat Verona 2-1, Napoli welcomes the comeback of star midfielder Kevin De Bruyne after 132 days sidelined due to injury.

The stands at Diego Maradona Stadium gave continuous applause to De Bruyne when he was substituted in at the 79th minute during the 2-1 victory over Torino in Serie A round 28, replacing Alisson Santos, the hero of the match. Earlier, right at the start of the second half, muscular midfielder Frank Zambo Anguissa also officially returned after more than 3 months of thigh injury treatment.

This is the first appearance of the Belgian veteran on the pitch since the penalty incident that helped Napoli open the scoring in the 3-1 win over Inter on 25/10/2025. A hamstring injury required De Bruyne to undergo surgery and rest for 4.5 months, missing 28 matches for Napoli. Up to now, he has only played a total of 12 matches and scored 4 goals for the blue team.

De Bruyne's comeback is eagerly awaited at Napoli, as coach Antonio Conte has struggled with personnel issues since the start of the season, especially in the attacking front where key players have been continuously absent. In October 2025, De Bruyne was injured and missed 4 months. David Neres was tested and shone, but then in January 2026, this Brazilian player was injured and missed the rest of the season. Frank Anguissa was absent since November 2025, and Scott McTominay has been sidelined for the past month. Most recently, in the recent victory over Torino, rising star Antonio Vergara also suffered pain, had to leave the field, and Napoli is anxiously awaiting test results. These consecutive incidents constantly challenge Coach Conte's adaptability, who has remarkably managed to keep Napoli firmly in the Top 3.

However, both Conte and De Bruyne will have much work ahead to truly make this comeback a significant milestone helping Napoli maintain its position in the Top 4, the minimum target after the Scudetto defense mission is now out of reach. At nearly 35 years old, regaining form after such a serious injury is not easy, especially for a technically-oriented player like him, and in reality, he has not fully integrated into the Italian football environment after a relatively short early-season stint.

Nevertheless, with the class, experience, and desire to prove himself again—never doubted in the Belgian star—it is believable that he will return to top form as soon as possible to help Napoli achieve this season's goals.