Napoli's Neres likely to miss crucial upcoming games with thigh injury

Napoli will be without key attacker David Neres for their next Serie A fixture at Lazio after the league leaders announced on Tuesday that he had picked up a thigh injury.

In a statement, Napoli said that Neres had pulled a muscle in his left thigh during Saturday's 1-1 draw with Udinese which allowed reigning champions Inter Milan to move to within one point of Antonio Conte's team.

Napoli did not say for how long Brazilian Neres would be sidelined but Italian media say the 27-year-old won't return to action until early March.

That would rule him out of Napoli's Scudetto clash with Inter in Naples which is currently scheduled for March 2.

Neres, who has eight international caps, signed for Napoli from Benfica in the summer and became first choice for Conte after it became clear that Khvicha Kvaratskhelia would move to Paris Saint-Germain.

Napoli take on Lazio in Rome on Saturday, with Inter travelling to Turin on Sunday for a grudge match with Juventus.