Ahead of Saturday’s match against Torino, Antonio Conte spoke about the need to use all the resources at his disposal, with seven fixtures to play in less than a month.
“We have a very intense run of games coming up and I’m curious to see how we do,” he explained. “The aim is to perform at our best in every match with all the players helping.
“We’ll need more energy and fresh legs so we’re going to have to rotate to be able to perform at the level required.
“All the internationals players are back now and we’re assessing the condition of the players who have been out. They’re recovering well. [Matteo] Politano is training with the team again. [Alessandro] Buongiorno has been working with the others for three or four days now. [Stanislav] Lobotka and [Amir] Rrahmani are continuing with their personalised programmes.
“We play so many games nowadays. It would be interesting to know the percentage of injuries at European club level. We have to accept it for what it is. Obviously if a player is tired, you can’t risk losing him for a long time so you have to rotate. That’s why it’s important to have a big squad and players who are ready to step in at any time.”
What difficulties are you expecting tomorrow?
“The same as always. I think any team coming up against Napoli is extremely motivated to do well against the reigning champions. It will be the same for Torino. I know the club and their great history. They’ll be keen to do well so it’s going to be tough.
“Last year [Marco] Baroni’s Lazio were a real menace for us, both in Serie A and Coppa Italia. He’s an excellent coach an extra difficulty for us. In any case, this will be a different game.”
Will David Neres and Billy Gilmour get to play tomorrow?
“I know both players very well and I know what they can bring to the team, both technically and character-wise. Neres doesn’t need to prove anything. He was an important member of our Scudetto-winning team last season and his condition is improving in this early part of this season. Gilmour has done an excellent job standing in for Lobotka in the past. We have complete confidence in him because whenever he’s called upon he always does well.”
