Insigne has fluid drained from knee, not in Italy training

Lorenzo Insigne has taken some pretty hard shots to his surgically-repaired right knee lately, and it's taken a toll -- the you forward had to sit out training with the Italian national team on Monday in order to have excess fluid drained from his knee.

It's really not that surprising that Insigne would have some lingering issues -- after all, he left his last two matches favoring the knee that he blew out last season, causing significant alarm in the Napoli fanbase. Fortunately, it's not actually all the surprising that something like this would happen -- it usually takes at least a year and a half, and sometimes even longer, for an injury like the one Insigne suffered to get fully "right" again, and minor setbacks like this are to be expected.

Unfortunately for Insigne, this setback could cost him a shot to prove himself on the national team level. Insigne was expected to be given a shot to start against Azerbaijan on Saturday, but Antonio Conte will probably have to wait and see how the Napoli forward's knee responds to treatment and training before committing to starting him in that match, or even including him in the final 23-man squad for Italy's last two Euro qualifiers.

Of course, it wouldn't be the worst thing in the world if Insigne had to skip out on these matches, at least from a Napoli fan's perspective. Insigne has been Napoli's best player so far this season, and keeping him from the risk of an injury on international duty would only be a good thing.

Still, it'd be nice to see Insigne represent the club with a strong performance on the international stage, especially wearing the Azzurri crest, but that can wait. As long as he keeps playing well, there's going to be many more chances for Insigne to star for Italy. Right now, his health is more important.