Lack of McTominay rest may offer more Napoli game time to Gilmour

Scotland international Scott McTominay has only missed 21 minutes since round five, so Antonio Conte is expected to give more playing time to Billy Gilmour in the coming matches.

The Partenopei have collected three consecutive draws in Serie A but remain the table leaders with a two-point lead over Inter.

Injuries to Leonardo Spinazzola, David Neres and Mathias Olivera forced Conte to switch to a three-man defence in an away game at Lazio on Saturday, but the Italian tactician could adopt more changes in the coming weeks.

Lack of McTominay rest may offer more Napoli game time to Gilmour

La Gazzetta dello Sport already highlighted how a lack of replacements in central midfield could affect the Partenopei’s title hopes, and the pink paper now reports that Scotland international Gilmour could be given more playing time in the upcoming matches.

Conte has repeatedly said that he’d love to give the ex-Brighton star more playing time, and according to Gazzetta, the time has finally come.

The newspaper notes that Stanislav Lobotka has only missed 20 minutes in the last 13 games, André Zambo Anguissa has rested for 46 minutes this season, and McTominay has only missed 21 minutes since Round five.

Gilmour is Lobotka’s backup on paper, but Conte could also deploy the Scotsman as a box-to-box midfielder.

Napoli can also rely on January signing Philip Billing who moved to the Maradona on loan with an option to buy from Bournemouth in the January window.