Conte explains McTominay will decide his own availability for PSV vs. Napoli

Antonio Conte has explained that Scott McTominay will decide for himself whether he is fit and available to play against PSV in the Champions League on Tuesday evening, as the Napoli star deals with an issue on his ankle. 

The Partenopei will take on PSV at Phillips Stadion in the Netherlands on Tuesday night, looking to make it back-to-back victories in the Champions League following a 2-1 win over Sporting CP last time out in the competition. Napoli fell to a 2-0 defeat to Manchester City after being reduced to 10 men early in the first half during the first round of fixtures. 

One major doubt for Conte and his staff is the availability of reigning Serie A MVP McTominay, who was left out of the matchday squad with an injury concern for the 1-0 defeat by Torino on Saturday. 

Speaking at his pre-match press conference on Tuesday evening, Conte explained that the decision on whether McTominay can play will be down to the midfielder himself rather than the medical staff. 

“We have to wait until tomorrow, it will be him who makes the decision. He did individual work yesterday, he did part of the training today,” Conte explained. 

“He had this problem with a cut at the top of his ankle. It will be up to him to take responsibility for the decision. 

“I was a player before, and forcing them is never good. We’re waiting for his decision, knowing that he’s an important player for us. If he’s there, we’ll be very happy, otherwise, we have a solution ready.”