Lazio’s injury list has taken another hit with Nuno Tavares and Josip Sutalo ruled out for at least three weeks following medical tests. Both players suffered muscular damage during the 1-1 draw with Napoli at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona, and the latest assessments have confirmed the extent of the injuries.
That timeline is significant for Lazio’s immediate schedule. Tavares (a full-back) and Sutalo (a centre-back) are expected to miss Serie A fixtures against Lecce and Torino, with Lazio aiming to have them available again for the first week of December.
The problems also affected their international involvement. Both players withdrew from the Nations League squads—Tavares for Portugal and Sutalo for Croatia—after their injuries were confirmed. With muscular injuries, clubs typically prefer to avoid rushing a return, particularly where there is a risk of re-injury if a muscle is not fully settled.
For Gattuso, that means working through a defensive reshuffle during a key period when Lazio will not have the option of simply rotating like-for-like at either full-back or centre-back.
What it means for Lazio’s squad
Sutalo has been a regular part of Lazio’s back line this season, making eight Serie A appearances since joining on loan with an option to buy from Ajax. Tavares, meanwhile, has contributed directly at the other end of the pitch for a full-back, scoring once and providing four assists across 11 league matches.
Both injuries therefore carry more than just defensive consequences. Losing a creator and a goalscoring threat from wide areas forces Lazio to rethink how they build attacks—while missing a centre-back disrupts the balance of the entire defensive structure.
With three-week minimum bans from action, Lazio’s next few matches will likely demand tighter game management and more conservative use of the remaining defenders, especially in spells where Lazio would normally press high and commit numbers forward. Gattuso now faces the task of organising a back line capable of handling different attacking styles when Lazio travel to Lecce and then host/face Torino in their next league tests—before assessing whether either Tavares or Sutalo can return in the early December window.
