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On the back of news that Rio Ferdinand and Didier Drogba could miss the World Cup comes news that Andrea Pirlo, midfielder for the defending champions Italy, suffered a second degree calf strain in yesterday's friendly with Mexico.
Pirlo had an ultrasound performed on his calf and then left Italy's training camp to return to Milan. He will remain there until June 8, missing Italy's next friendly with Switzerland, before going to South Africa to be reevaluated.
Italy team doctor Enrico Castellacci said that Pirlo's injury usually requires 15-20 days recovery. Italy has until June 13 to replace Pirlo in their World Cup squad.
Pirlo was one of Italy's most important players at the 2006 World Cup. Since his 2002 debut, the Milan midfielder has been capped 65 times, scoring 8 goals.
He is expected to start in central midfield beside Roma's Daniele De Rossi. Were Pirlo unable to play, Milan's Gennaro Gattuso and Sampdoria's Angelo Palombo could see increased playing time.
Andrea Pirlo Out For At Least Two Games With Calf Injury
Italy midfielder Andrea Pirlo will miss at least two games with a calf injury suffered last week, one report confirmed.
Italy coach Marcelo Lippi confirmed the Milan star could miss more matches, though until Pirlo is ruled out for the whole tournament, Lippi will keep him on his roster:
Italy is also dealing with injuries to Mauro Camoranesi, Claudio Marchisio, and Angelo Palombo, prompting Lippi to bring Andrea Cossu to South Africa as cover, should any of the midfielders be removed from the 23-man squad.
Italy must make any changes to their team one day before their June 14 meeting with Paraguay.
Jun 07 1:18p by Richard Farley - 0 comments