Calafiori ruled out of Italy clash against Israel and heads back to Arsenal

Italy international Riccardo Calafiori has been ruled out of the national team’s upcoming Nations League clash against Israel on Monday and is expected to return to Arsenal in the coming hours, recent updates have confirmed.

Calafiori ruled out of Israel-Italy

The former Bologna centre-back lined up as a starter in Friday’s 3-1 victory over France, and received rave reviews from outlets in Italy, but was forced off mid-way through the second half after a coming together with Ousmane Dembele.

In what was a complete accident, the tumbling Dembele managed to clip the back of Calafiori’s leg, which initially had looked like it had caused pain to the defender’s heel.

Reports from Sky Sport Italia confirm that the 22-year-old has suffered bruising to his calf, and that he will now return to North London on precautionary grounds. He will be further assessed and treated by Arsenal’s medical staff.

In his absence on Monday, there is likely to be an opportunity as a starter for Napoli centre-back Alessandro Buongiorno, who replaced Calafiori against France on Friday.