Napoli players showed their support for Gennaro Gattuso by holding a minute's silence on Friday as the grieving head coach returned to training.

Gattuso is mourning after it was announced on Tuesday that his sister Francesca had died at the age of 37 following an illness.

She had worked as a secretary with Serie A club Milan, where Gattuso spent 13 years as a player and was later head coach.

Gattuso, 42, has been in charge of Napoli for almost six months, after succeeding Carlo Ancelotti in December.

The bond between the coach and his players, led by skipper Lorenzo Insigne, was made clear by the players' response to Gattuso at the Castel Volturno training ground on Friday.

"The day began with a very touching moment: the team wanted to express their closeness and make Gennaro Gattuso feel all their affection with a virtual hug," Napoli's website announced.

"Captain Insigne and the whole team observed a minute of recollection in memory of the Azzurro coach's sister before the start of training."