Conte: De Bruyne will need time to get back to his best

Antonio Conte stressed Napoli will have to be patient with Kevin De Bruyne and the other players they have returning from injury.

Napoli beat Lecce 2-1 on Saturday to close the gap in Serie A to second-place AC Milan to one point.

De Bruyne, who is only just back from a lengthy injury lay-off, came on as a second-half substitute, having also played against Torino in Napoli's previous outing.

The playmaker created two chances, a joint-team-high, along with Matteo Politano, who teed up Rasmus Hojlund's equaliser and then scored Napoli's winner.

De Bruyne replaced Frank Anguissa, who has also spent time on the sidelines, while the fit-again Billy Gilmour played the whole match. Romelu Lukaku was an unused substitute, while Scott McTominay also came on for the second half.

"These are great players, but we must give them time to regain the match tempo," Conte told DAZN, as reported by Football Italia.

"It's true that the lads need to regain confidence, but the most important thing is the common good, which is what is good for Napoli.

"I made choices and made changes at half-time. Everyone wants to play, but we've got to be smart, and they must trust what I see and feel.

"The most important thing is that we qualify for the Champions League."

There was concern at the end of the game for Lecce's Lameck Banda, who collapsed near the touchline, clutching his chest. 

Conte spotted it first and rushed onto the field, with Banda receiving medical attention before he was stretchered off.

"I was right there preparing the wall for a free-kick, and I saw him looking a bit shaky. He started to go down, then he had his hand on his chest, which really frightened me," Conte said.

"I rushed onto the field and called for help. I hope he is doing well and has a quick recovery."