A delegation of Monza players were allowed to visit teammate Pablo Mari in hospital today for the first time since he was stabbed in a frenzied supermarket attack.
There are limits to how many visitors are allowed in the Niguarda hospital in Milan, so a few representatives were chosen to see him and pass on the good wishes of the others.
Their request to have Monday’s Serie A match against Bologna postponed was rejected by the authorities.
The defender, who is on loan from Arsenal with an option to buy at the end of the season, was shopping with his wife and young child when stabbed in the back on Thursday evening.
The perpetrator, a 46-year-old Italian who had been under psychiatric care, had taken a knife from the shelves and randomly stabbed people in the store, killing a cashier and injuring five others.
Pablo Mari had surgery to suture the back muscles and is expected to be out of action for two to three months.