Italian defender Riccardo Calafiori is set to miss the Azzurri’s Nations League game against Israel on Tuesday after the stopper-back sustained a calf injury during Italy’s previous engagement against France.
Italy’s football federation, the FIGC, said in a statement on Sunday that Calafiori would return to his club side, Arsenal, after suffering a bruised left calf in the side’s resounding 3-1 win over France in Paris on Saturday.
The 22-year-old Calafiori sustained the injury in a freak accident as French forward Ousmane Dembele was sent flying into the defender’s calf after being tackled by Italian Alessandro Bastoni, during the visitors’ emphatic win.
The Italian defender signed a contract to ply his trade with the London giants in the Premier League ahead of the start of the season and has been a welcome addition to Mikel Arteta’s Gunners, who go in search of the elusive PL crown, for a third straight season after narrowly missing out on the trophy to Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City in the previous two campaigns.
Calafiori came into the limelight following impressive performances with Serie A side Bologna as the defender helped his former side finish fifth in the Italian domestic circuit and earn a spot in the revamped edition of the UEFA Champions League.
Calafiori also stood out in Italy’s unsuccessful Euro 2024 campaign, where the reigning champions failed to move past the last-16.
Italy boss Luciano Spalletti, who helmed Serie A side Napoli to a title after a three-decade drought ahead of his tenure as the head coach of the national side, has ensured that the Azzurri are level on three points in Group A2 with Belgium, who beat Israel 3-1 on Friday.
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