Mattia De Sciglio feels he’ll be ready to face Costa Rica, but Gigi Buffon reportedly won’t return until Uruguay.

Mattia De Sciglio feels he’ll be ready to face Costa Rica, but Gigi Buffon reportedly won’t return until Uruguay.

Italy won their opening World Cup game, beating England 2-1 despite losing two key players just hours before kick-off in Manaus.

Milan left-back De Sciglio was a particularly heavy blow, as it forced Giorgio Chiellini to go wide and brought Gabriel Paletta into the centre of defence.

“I am feeling much better now. I think I’ll be ready to play against Costa Rica,” De Sciglio told journalists.

The Azzurri face surprise Group D leaders Costa Rica in Recife on Friday afternoon, kicking off at 17.00 UK time (16.00 GMT).

However, according to the latest reports it looks as if Buffon won’t be available for that showdown with the side that beat Uruguay 3-1.

The goalkeeper sprained his left ankle in a training session the day before the England game and it reportedly caused an inflammation to the tibial tendon too.

Salvatore Sirigu put in a fine performance in Manaus and the Paris Saint-Germain shot-stopper is expected to start at least the next match, possibly all the group fixtures.

This isn’t the first time Buffon has been unlucky with injuries at a major tournament. He missed Euro 2000 when fracturing a finger during a warm-up friendly against Norway and hurt his back in the first half of the 2010 World Cup opener with Paraguay.

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