Arsenal defender Riccardo Calafiori has withdrawn from international duty with Italy.
The defender joined up with his compatriots for their world cup qualifiers against Moldova and Norway, but trained alone amid complaints of a hip injury.
Calafiori has been Mikel Arteta’s first-choice left-back this term, and he played the full 90 minutes of the 2-2 draw at Sunderland in their most recent Premier League outing.
The hip issue meant that he played no part in the 2-0 win over Norway either, with the Azzurri looking to end their qualifying campaign with a flourish .
Italy manager Gennaro Gattuso had said previously that he wanted his players to prioritise Italy’s bid to qualify for next year’s tournament, having missed out on the last two in Russia and Qatar.
However, in his pre-match press conference ahead of the italian’s game with Norway, he admitted that he did not want to push Calafiori to the limits.
“Riccardo joined the national team with a physical problem,” Gattuso said.
“He showed dedication to the shirt and we tried to make him grit his teeth, but we couldn’t force it.
“Alessandro Buongiorno, Gianluca Mancini and others are there for that position.”
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