Young Napoli defender Marianucci suffers MCL injury in pre-season friendly

Syndicated reporting provided by Stats Perform and reviewed by the SoccerNews editorial team.

Napoli have confirmed 22-year-old centre-back Luca Marianucci suffered a “high-grade” medial collateral ligament (MCL) injury during Saturday’s friendly draw with Celta Vigo.

The Partenopei continued their preparations for their first season under Massimiliano Allegri by drawing 1-1 with the LaLiga side, being pegged back by Ferran Jutgla’s goal after Giovanni Di Lorenzo put them in front in the first half.

Allegri selected a strong lineup, with Marianucci – who spent time on loan at Torino last season – coming off the bench to replace Rafa Marin in the 59th minute.

However, the six-foot-four defender had to be taken off 25 minutes later, for Christian Garofolo, after suffering a knee injury.

Medical update on Marianucci  https://t.co/y0SqxZw6IR

— Official SSC Napoli (@en_sscnapoli) August 10, 2026

And the club confirmed on Monday that tests had shown a serious MCL issue, which will likely rule Marianucci out for much of the 2026-27 campaign.

Marianucci made two appearances for Napoli in all competitions last season, then featured 11 times for Torino after joining them on loan in January.

He previously made 24 appearances for Empoli in 2024-25, before joining the four-time Scudetto winners last year.

Napoli visit Genoa for their Serie A opener on August 22, with Como the first visitors to the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona eight days later.

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