Arsenal’s Riccardo Calafiori is set to miss Italy’s upcoming match against Moldova through injury, according to a report.
Ryan Taylor reports for Football.London that Riccardo Calafiori is expected to miss Italy’s upcoming World Cup qualifier against Moldova on Thursday due to a hip injury.
Calafiori has been training separately from his teammates as he tries to overcome the problem, but his involvement on international duty is now likely to be limited.
The focus for Calafiori at this stage is seemingly on recovering in time to face Norway in Italy’s subsequent World Cup qualifier on Sunday.
The news that Calafiori is struggling with an injury will worry Arsenal fans, following the 23-year-old’s debut campaign at the club.
The left-back was absent from 24 of Arsenal’s 58 matchday squads in 2024/25, over 40% of the fixtures the team played, and almost all of those absences were fitness-related.
Things have been a lot different this season so far, with Calafiori featuring in all of Arsenal’s 17 matchday squads to start the season, making the starting lineup on 12 occasions.
The Italy international only started 16 club matches in the entirety of the last campaign, so he’s 75% of the way to matching that total already.
With any luck, Calafiori is rested on Thursday and proves his fitness by the weekend, making him ready for Arsenal’s return to action on November 23rd. But there will be some doubts now.