Riccardo Calafiori has returned to Arsenal after being ruled out of Italy’s World Cup qualifier due to a hip injury.
The 23-year-old missed Italy’s 2-0 win away to Moldova on Thursday but head coach Gennaro Gattuso had hoped to have the Arsenal defender available for his side’s final World Cup qualifier against Norway on Sunday.
However, Gattuso revealed on Saturday that Calafiori will not be risked for Italy’s game against Norway and the defender has now withdrawn from the squad.
‘He tried, and we thank him for the professionalism, desire, and dedication he’s shown, which is good for us as a group,’ Gattuso said.
‘We could have made him grit his teeth, but that’s not fair because he’ll have matches every three or four days.’
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Arsenal will be hoping for Calafiori to recover in time for the north London derby against Tottenham next Sunday.
Italy, meanwhile, sit second in Group I and would need to beat Norway by nine goals to avoid going through the World Cup qualifying play-offs.
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