- 16 hours ago
Arsenal handed Calafiori boost after injury scare
Cameron Smith
- Updated: 8 Sept 2024 16:08 BST
- 3 min read
Arsenal have been handed positive news regarding the fitness of summer signing Riccardo Calafiori.
Calafiori immediately went down holding his calf and he was unable to continue, with Alessandro Buonguiorno taking his place in the Azzurri backline.
READ MORE: Arsenal identify Benjamin Sesko 'Plan B'
The defender, who joined Arsenal from Bologna for €45 million this summer, will not feature against Israel on Monday night and he has been forced to withdraw from Italy’s squad.
Calafiori has returned to Arsenal for assessment, but Fabrizio Romano has revealed that his injury is simply a knock and is not serious.
This will come as a huge relief to Gunners boss Mikel Arteta, who will be without both Mikel Merino and Declan Rice for the north London derby on Sunday.
The former suffered a shoulder injury during his first training session at Arsenal and will be out until at least October, while the latter is suspended after being shown a red card against Brighton & Hove Albion.
READ MORE: Calafiori sends Arteta a message over Arsenal starting role
Riccardo Calafiori injury scare
Calafiori is yet to start his first game for Arsenal, but he has appeared off the bench in both of their past two Premier League matches.
Furthermore, with Jurrien Timber picking up a knock versus Brighton, Calafiori could be in line to start against Tottenham if he is deemed fully fit by Arsenal’s medical staff.
During his time on the pitch against France, the Italy international was composed in possession, and regularly carried the ball into midfield areas, while he was dominant when defending.
He completed 63 accurate passes with a 94% accuracy, made four clearances and all three of his long ball attempts were successful.
Although they conceded to Bradley Barcola within the first minute of the game, Italy beat France 3-1 at the Parc des Princes to earn their first win of the new Nations League campaign.
