According to Il Corriere dello Sport, Juventus defender Leonardo Bonucci could miss Italy’s World Cup play-offs against North Macedonia on March 24.
The veteran defender has been struggling with injuries since the start of the year, having collected four appearances in 2022. He has been dealing with a few muscle issues and won’t be available for the second leg of the Champions League Round of 16 against Villarreal tomorrow.
According to Il Corriere dello Sport, Bonucci will also miss Sunday’s Serie A tie against Salernitana and is in danger of missing out on Italy’s World Cup play-offs semi-finals against North Macedonia on March 24.
The former Milan captain may recover for the potential Final which the Azzurri would play in Portugal or Turkey against one of the two countries. His teammate Giorgio Chiellini is training at Continassa this morning and should be eligible tomorrow and against North Macedonia.
Federico Chiesa has been ruled out for the rest of the season with a knee injury, while Portugal will be without Manchester City defender Ruden Dias. Roberto Mancini will reveal his squad list for the next two games on Friday morning.
#Italia, #playoffMondiali: la situazione. #Bonucci rischia, #Chiellini recupera 🏃 https://t.co/mvFk7MyCky
— Corriere dello Sport (@CorSport) March 15, 2022
Italy don’t need him, he is past his best form
Mancio has already stated that he will call up only the players that are 100% fit and he is absolutely right. However, would have been great to have Leonardo in as he is a great leader but unfortunately it will probably be not the case.
@juvenesia i agree, he will be their downfall if he comes back in, even juve kept more cleansheet without him in the side.
Italy rely on Chiellini-Bonucci in the middle of a back 4. Sadly, they’re the best we have. The only ideal replacements are Mancini, Romagnoli and Bastoni. Mancini is probably the better of out the three only because he can play in a back 4 or 3. Romagnoli has been playing better as of recent before his most recent injury. Bastoni only looks comfortable in a back three based after that horrid performance he had vs Spain in the Nations League. Toloi and Felipe clearly aren’t good enough to play for Brazil so I don’t know why Italy would pick them. Reliable centrebacks are going to be a big headache for Mancini and the future of Italy if they don’t focus on more youth talent.
@juvenesia i 100% agree with you. However @TONINO, how would bonucci be a good leader? He has never shown excellence and seems to lack a lot of potential even at his age. He shows on the pitch that he has a lazy side
italy can win either or both games on PKs, like during the EURO. they have enough players to beat n.macedona and can beat portugal on penalties. Portugal play too defensively, thats why they are in the same situation as italy, CR7 is old and not in good form.Italy will struggle to scorer but can control both games with their superior midfield, the mentality just be like it was during the EURO. In one off games anything can happen. its more difficult to resolve games in 90 minutes. Hell Portugal lost at home to Serbia. I was reading on line some opinions of Portugal fans. They all believe that Portugal can’t beat italy in a playoff.