Scott McTominay's Uncertain Future at Napoli

Napoli sporting director Giovanni Manna has laid bare the uncertainty around Scott McTominay’s future, admitting contract talks with the midfielder are proving anything but straightforward.

McTominay is tied to the club until 2028, and both sides want the relationship to continue. That, Manna says, is not the problem. Getting the deal over the line is.

Speaking to DAZN, Manna addressed the growing noise around a renewal for the 29-year-old. “McTominay’s contract renewal? Scott said he doesn’t know if he’ll renew at this time,” he revealed, a rare public acknowledgment of doubt over such a key player.

“He has a two-year contract, we want to do it, and he wants to do it too. It’s not always easy to make things coincide, but we’re trying,” Manna added, underlining the familiar tension between desire and detail that shapes top-level negotiations.

Health scare and surgery in London

While his future is debated in the boardroom, McTominay’s present is dominated by something far more personal: his heart.

The Napoli midfielder has been diagnosed with a mild benign arrhythmia, a condition that causes occasional irregular heartbeats. Napoli moved quickly, arranging a medical procedure in London designed to correct the issue and limit the disruption to their season.

Inside the club, there is confidence. The expectation is that McTominay will be back in full competitive action by mid-October, if his recovery goes to plan.

McTominay has tried to calm any rising anxiety among supporters. At a recent awards ceremony, he played down the drama around the operation. “I’m fine, the procedure was something I’d planned to do with the club for quite a while,” he said, framing it as a controlled, proactive step rather than an emergency.

Blow for Napoli and Scotland

The timing, though, hurts.

McTominay has already sat out Napoli’s chaotic 3-2 defeat to Inter Milan, a result that marked a second straight loss for Massimiliano Allegri’s side and exposed a glaring gap in their midfield balance. With him sidelined, Napoli lose their driving force in the engine room just as a brutal run of fixtures looms.

Arsenal, Bologna, Fiorentina. Three games that could shape the early narrative of their campaign, all likely to be played without one of their most influential figures.

The damage stretches beyond club football. For Scotland, the absence is brutal.

McTominay, capped 73 times and now a pillar of the Tartan Army, will miss four key Nations League matches against Slovenia, Switzerland and North Macedonia. Those games open the Sebastien Pocognoli era, a fresh chapter for the national team that was supposed to be built around the midfielder who fired Scotland to the 2026 World Cup with decisive goals in qualifying.

Instead, Pocognoli begins without his on-field reference point.

A meticulous road back

Manna outlined a strict recovery roadmap, one built on caution rather than risk.

The first two weeks after surgery will be devoted entirely to rest. No shortcuts, no early strain. The priority is allowing McTominay’s body to settle after the procedure.

Only then will he be cleared to rejoin training, and even that will be heavily controlled. At that stage, he can resume non-contact competitive activity: light sessions, fitness work, ball exercises, but no tackles, no full-blooded duels.

“It will take 28 days for sporting fitness because he will take anticoagulant drugs,” Manna explained. “For two weeks, the player will rest and then resume competitive activity without contact.”

The final hurdle, full-contact match play, will come only once specialists sign off completely, with his medication carefully managed and every risk assessed.

Napoli now wait on two fronts: for their midfield leader to return to the pitch, and for clarity on whether he will commit his long-term future to the club. How they navigate the weeks ahead could define both their season and McTominay’s next chapter.