Italy will be without both Riccardo Calafiori and Lorenzo Pellegrini for tonight’s Nations League clash against Israel after the Azzurri pair picked up minor injuries against France on Friday against France.
The Azzurri recorded a 3-1 at France after returning from a goal conceded in the 1st minute into their UEFA Nations League journey.
This has forced Calafiori, who just joined Arsenal, to return to London. The defender suffered a bruise to his calf following an unfortunate accident involving Ousmane Dembele. His return to North London on precautionary grounds gives Arsenal’s medical team the quality time to further assess and treat him.
Pellegrini will also return to his club after reporting an issue with his flexor muscles against France. He substituted at half-time, and Giacomo Raspadori came on to replace him and scored the third goal in the game.
Luciano Spaletti will prepare for the Israel game in Hungary with the remaining part of the squad.
With the duo out of the starting lineup, official lineups will be unveiled on Monday evening. This could allow Alessandro Buongiorno to start on the left-hand side of Italy’s back three instead of Calafiori.
Concerning Pellegrini, Spaletti is spoilt of choices in the middle of the park. The Roma midfielder started in the advanced midfield role behind the striker in a 3-5-1-1 against France.
Having replaced him against France, Raspadori, who could play as a supporting striker, could be Pellegrini’s natural replacement.
Spalletti could also field Atalanta’s Marco Brescianini, who made his senior debut against Les Bleus on Friday.
With Fratessi and Sandro Tonali available for selection, Spalletti won’t have much trouble fielding a quality squad. Tonali, who returned to action after a ten-month ban due to a betting offense, made his first international appearance in a year in the win over France on Friday and provided a lovely assist for Federico Dimarco’s equalizer in the first half.
Spalletti could provide an opportunity for Lazio’s Mattia Zaccagni if he also decides to tweak the attacking system slightly.
