Kevin De Bruyne will be out for several months due to a serious muscle injury.

Napoli concern over serious De Bruyne injury after Inter win

Napoli’s 3-1 victory over Inter has lifted the mood at the Stadio Maradona, restoring confidence and momentum, but celebrations were muted by a fresh injury concern for Kevin De Bruyne.

After experiencing discomfort in the same area that required surgery last season, the Belgian midfielder asked to leave the field, alarming the club's medical staff right away. According to Sky Sport, via TuttoMercatoWeb, there is real concern that the 32-year-old may have suffered a significant muscular relapse.

The highly anticipated Serie A clash between Napoli and Inter was witness to a moment of cruel fortune for Belgian midfielder Kevin De Bruyne. In a dramatic turn of events, De Bruyne carved his name onto the scoresheet by calmly converting a penalty, only for his triumph to be instantly overshadowed.

This heartbreaking incident disrupts what has been a productive start to his campaign in Naples.

The influential Belgian has made eleven appearances for the Neapolitan club across all competitions this season, contributing directly to six goals with four goals and two assists. Mere moments after his successful spot-kick, the playmaker was struck by an unfortunate injury, forcing him into a premature and disappointing exit from the pitch, with Mathías Olivera stepping in as his replacement.

AC Milan left the leadership door ajar when they drew with Pisa on Friday night to move onto 17 points. Napoli are now one point clear at the top after a timely win at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona.

Napoli had been struggling, losing two of their last three Serie A games, including a defeat at AC Milan, before suffering a 6-2 humiliation at PSV Eindhoven in the Champions League on Tuesday.

In front of their home crowd, they responded. "It was an excellent evening. Scott McTominay of Napoli said, "We played like a top team, we knew we had to put in a great performance, and we did."

"There was a great reaction after the bad night in the Champions League."

After 33 minutes, when Napoli right back Giovanni Di Lorenzo was brought down by Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Napoli won a penalty. Mkhitaryan injured himself making the challenge and went off before De Bruyne stepped up to convert the penalty.

The Belgian scored his fourth league goal in his first season in Italy since leaving Manchester City. He had already scored twice from the penalty spot and once with a free kick.

But the 34-year-old clutched a hamstring after scoring and was helped off the field before play resumed.

"We're going through a tough spell with lots of injuries – Kevin picked up one today too – but we responded with great character," said Napoli coach Antonio Conte.

Inter president Giuseppe Marotta was unhappy that the penalty was awarded by a video review after the referee had initially not whistled for a foul.

"The unjustified penalty, as shown by the footage, completely changed the dynamic of the match," he said, but added "Napoli could have won anyway, of course."

After 54 minutes, McTominay smashed the ball home from the edge of the box, doubling the lead for the home team. Five minutes later, Hakan Calhanoglu scored from the spot after Alessandro Buongiorno stopped a Lautaro Martinez shot with an arm. After 67 minutes, Napoli's third goal was scored by Andre-Frank Anguissa. "Inter were coming off a string of good results, while we were struggling," said Conte.

"Inter came here to destroy us," said Conte. "We have no desire and no intention of stopping fighting.

"Despite everything, we played an excellent game and the win was legitimate and deserved."

Inter are fourth behind Roma who visit Sassuolo on Sunday and could draw level with Napoli.