There are fears Fiorentina and Italy defender Alessandro Gamberini could miss seven key games after dislocating his shoulder.
He fell heavily on to his right shoulder just 60 seconds into Saturday’s 2-1 World Cup qualifier win in Cyprus and needed to go to the local hospital to have it pushed back into place under general anaesthetic.
The Fiorentina medical staff are evaluating the situation, but according to the latest reports he could end up skipping seven club matches between Serie A and the Champions League.
That includes meetings with Napoli, Olympique Lyonnais, Steaua Bucharest, Lazio and Genoa.
It is very bad timing for the Viola, who return to Europe’s main stage for the first time in eight years.
During this crunch period for the team, the only central defenders available are Per Kroldrup, Dario Dainelli, Ondrej Mazuch and Manuel Da Costa.
Meanwhile, Marcello Lippi has announced he will not be calling up any replacements for Gamberini and Fabio Grosso.
The Olympique Lyonnais defender also fell awkwardly against Cyprus and fractured the fifth and sixth ribs.
This means Italy will have only 19 players available for Wednesday’s qualifier against Georgia.
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