Italy have yet more injury problems going into Sunday’s EURO 2024 qualifier against Malta, as Nicolò Barella and Leonardo Bonucci are returning to their clubs.
The Azzurri opened their qualifying campaign with a 2-1 home defeat to England at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona.
Barella went off during the second half, after he was fouled by Harry Maguire in the build-up to the Mateo Retegui goal.
The Inter midfielder received a heavy stamp to the top of the foot in that incident, resulting in a yellow card for Maguire, and will not be risked for Sunday’s meeting with Malta.
Bonucci was not even on the bench this evening due to fitness concerns and the Juventus defender will be sent back to Turin early from international duty.
Roberto Mancini was already missing numerous star names for these matches, including Federico Chiesa, Ciro Immobile, Alessandro Bastoni, Federico Dimarco and Giacomo Raspadori.
Changes are expected for the Malta game, especially considering how bad the first half performance was with England, as Willy Gnonto, Sandro Tonali and Matteo Politano all made a good impact off the bench.