Arsenal loanee set for injury comeback this week | OneFootball

Arsenal loanee Nuno Tavares is expected back in action this week, according to Lazio manager Marco Baroni.

Photo by Marco Rosi – SS Lazio/Getty Images

Arsenal loanee Nuno Tavares made a fantastic start to the 2024/25 campaign with Lazio, but he’s missed the last couple of weeks through injury.

It wasn’t initially clear exactly when the 24-year-old would be back in action, but Lazio boss Marco Baroni has now confirmed it should be one of their two matches this week.

“[Gaetano] Castrovilli is almost ready to be available, we’re talking about days,” Baroni began.

“We’ll try to recover Boulaye Dia for Napoli. For [Matias] Vecino we’re talking about ten days. Nuno Tavares, if he’s not available for the Coppa Italia game, will be back for the league game.”

Photo by Marco Rosi – SS Lazio/Getty Images

Lazio are facing Napoli in both games this week, first home and then away. As Baroni mentions, the first game will be in the Coppa Italia, with the second in Serie A.

We’ll have to wait and see which one he’s ultimately fit for, but it’s encouraging that he’s not expected to miss any longer.

Tavares had suffered a hamstring injury on international duty, missing games against Bologna, Ludogorets, and Parma on his return.

Before that setback, he’d been one of the stars of his team, and arguably one of the best-performing players in the entire division. With eight assists in nine Serie A matches, only Marcus Thuram’s six assists in 13 games for Inter Milan even comes close.

Photo by Marco Rosi – SS Lazio/Getty Images

Tavares’ loan deal includes an obligation to buy for €9m (£7.6m) assuming the player meets certain clauses in his contract – most likely appearance clauses. So it’s good news that his injury is a short one, unlikely to affect his long-term situation.

The player will be on a deal until June 2029 if he signs, and the contract also has a sell-on clause reportedly worth more than 25% of a future fee.