A doctor has provided an analysis of Riccardo Calafiori's strange knee injury. The Arsenal defender seemed to slip and buckle his leg in the closing stages of Italy's 2-1 loss to Germany on Thursday night. Calafiori received treatment on the pitch, and was able to get back to his feet but told the medical team that he could not continue playing.
Speaking after the game, Azzurri head coach Luciano Spalletti said of Calafiori, as per the Standard: “He said that his knee feels strange, but cannot answer more precisely than that, so we’ll have to see." Indeed, this will be a concern to anyone associated with his club back in London, with the Gunners already shouldering an injury crisis during the business end of their season. Watch the incident below:
Calafiori's debut season at Arsenal has already been hampered by four different injuries, causing him to miss 16 games for both club and country since last summer. If he faces another spell on the sidelines, he will join the likes of Gabriel Jesus, Kai Havertz, and Bukayo Saka in the treatment room at a time when Mikel Arteta will need a fresh squad more than ever.
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Doctor Gives Hopeful Analysis of Calafiori Injury
The Italian's slip looks worse than it might actually be
Riccardo Calafiori
According to sports doctor Rajpal Brar, the 22-year-old's injury may look a lot worse than it actually is. One possible saving grace, he explained on X, is that his left foot wasn't planted. He said (see the post below):
"Awkward slip and fall for Calafiori here. What possibly may have saved him is the left foot not being planted so might just be a contact injury. More testing tomorrow per NT."
Calafiori was seen limping when leaving the San Siro, and when asked how his knee was, he replied: “I still don’t know.” It remains to be seen if he will be in action in the return leg against Germany on Sunday, with late fitness tests expected to determine the extent of his setback. See him leaving the mixed zone below:
Arsenal's next match is against Fulham on April 1, followed by Champions League quarter-final clashes with Real Madrid on April 8 and 16. With off-field struggles impacting their season, they will be hoping to salvage some silverware from an increasingly challenging campaign, and could be forced into doing so without one of their marquee signings.