Scott McTominay undergoes successful heart surgery

Scott McTominay has had successful heart surgery and is expected to be sidelined for around two weeks, Napoli have confirmed.

The 29-year-old midfielder travelled back to Manchester for the operation on Tuesday morning, an ablation procedure carried out at Spire Manchester Hospital to correct a mild benign arrhythmia. "The operation was a complete success," Napoli said in a statement. "McTominay will rest for two weeks and then resume training."

The irregular heart rhythm was picked up after McTominay was substituted just before the hour mark in Napoli's 2-1 defeat to Como on 30 August. He then missed the club's next match, a 3-2 loss away to Inter Milan, while the procedure was arranged.

He played down any alarm at a recent awards ceremony.

"I'm fine, the procedure was something I'd planned to do with the club for quite a while."

McTominay will sit out Napoli's Champions League opener at home to Arsenal on Wednesday, along with Serie A meetings with Bologna and Fiorentina. Max Allegri is expected to have him available again when Napoli host Frosinone on 10 October, the first fixture after the international break.

Napoli have won one and lost two of their opening three Serie A matches, beating Genoa 2-0 before the defeats to Como and Inter Milan, and sit 12th in the table, six points off the top.

The former Manchester United midfielder started both of Napoli's opening two league games before the arrhythmia was found. His contract at the club runs until 2028, though he was non-committal when asked about his long-term future last week, telling Gazzetta dello Sport: "Will I stay at Napoli? I don't know, we haven't discussed it."

With the international break offering extra recovery time before the Frosinone match, Napoli may have McTominay back close to full fitness just as their Champions League campaign gets going, with Villarreal, Bodo/Glimt, Porto, Manchester City and Club Brugge still to come in the group stage.