Riccardo Calafiori has suffered a number of injury problems since his £42million move to Arsenal last summer and Mikel Arteta has now been given another scare after the left-back fell awkwardly during Italy's 2-1 loss to Germany
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Riccardo Calafiori
Arsenal defender Riccardo Calafiori has suffered an injury scare after falling awkwardly during Italy's 2-1 defeat to Germany
Arsenal have been handed another major injury scare after defender Riccardo Calafiori suffered an issue with his knee during Italy's 2-1 loss to Germany on Thursday night. The left-back slipped and fell awkwardly while tracking back during the Nations League quarter-final first leg tie.
There was concern for the Arsenal star after his right leg gave way before landing on his left knee. The 22-year-old looked in pain as he held onto the affected area and remained on the ground for some time.
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Calafiori managed to see out the remainder of the tie, which saw Newcastle star Sandro Tonali score the opening goal for Italy before Germany hit back through Tim Kleindienst and Leon Goretzka.
His manager Luciano Spalletti admitted the player "felt something strange" and that he would undergo tests on his knee to find out how bad the injury is.
"We still don’t know if he’s injured," Spalletti said after the game. "Ricky felt something strange in his knee but we still don’t know."
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Calafiori himself was asked for an update after the game but the former Bologna defender refused to give too much away and said he was in the dark, saying: "I still don't know." The Italian has been struggling with knee problems this season as was ruled out twice with the same issue earlier this season.
Calafiori was out for a week in September with a calf problem and missed a month of action at the end of October with a knee injury.
He picked up another knee problem in December, missing two weeks. At the start of January he spent ten days on the sidelines with a muscle issue and boss Mikel Arteta will be concerned by his frequent fitness woes.
Riccardo Calafiori
Calafiori has struggled with fitness issues since arriving at the Emirates
The defender only joined Arsenal last summer after signing for around £42million and he has been impressive under Arteta so far.
He has played 26 games overall, scoring three and assisting two, providing much needed quality at left-back, but he has only started 11 times - summing up his constant battle to stay fit.
Calafiori has been rotated with teenage star Myles Lewis-Skelly at left-back in the last few weeks and the academy talent is likely to be handed the spot for the foreseeable future should he be ruled out.
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