Scott McTominay Undergoes Heart Surgery, Out for Champions League Opener

Scott McTominay has undergone minor heart surgery, ruling him out of Napoli’s Champions League opener against Arsenal at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona.

The Scotland midfielder, who has already started two Serie A games this season, had the procedure on Monday, September 7 in England to correct what Napoli described as “a mild benign arrhythmia” – an irregular heartbeat the club stressed was non-serious. The timing leaves Rudi Garcia without one of his key midfielders just as last season’s beaten finalists arrive in Naples to launch the new European campaign.

Napoli confirmed last week that surgery was planned, and that McTominay would return after the upcoming international break. On Instagram, the 27-year-old tried to calm any fears, telling supporters: “I won’t take long.”

He struck a similar tone at an awards ceremony in Italy, explaining the operation had been in the pipeline for some time. “I’m fine, the procedure was something I’d planned to do with the club for quite a while,” he said.

Behind the scenes, though, Napoli have already mapped out a more detailed recovery schedule. Sporting director Giovanni Manna told DAZN that McTominay faces close to a month on the sidelines as he starts a course of anticoagulant medication.

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

Anticoagulants – blood thinners – are used to reduce the risk of clots, and that medical reality shapes the football calendar. The four-week window means McTominay is set to miss Scotland’s entire Nations League block in the upcoming international break, a run of four fixtures against Switzerland, North Macedonia and a double-header with Slovenia.

The Scottish national team quickly sent their support once the surgery plans were made public, issuing a message to their midfielder: “Wishing you all the best in your recovery, Scott. Hope to see you back in a Scotland shirt soon.”

For Arsenal, McTominay’s absence removes one powerful, box-to-box presence from Napoli’s engine room, but this is no hollowed-out midfield. The Gunners must still find a way to handle a side built around the fit-again pairing of Kevin De Bruyne and Billy Gilmour, as Naples prepares for another charged European night without one of its newest favourites.