Arsenal star Riccardo Calafiori suffers freak injury during Italy match in huge concern before north London derby
09/06/2024 04:32 PM
Arsenal star Riccardo Calafiori was forced off injured during Italy’s clash with France on Friday night.
The defender suffered the injury in complete freak fashion with Ousmane Dembele landing on his ankle after being tackled himself.
There was immediate concern from his Italy teammates who called for the physio to come onto the pitch.
No risks were taken by the medical staff as he was substituted, with the Italians winning 3-1 at the time.
Calafiori was a £33.7million signing from Bologna this summer.
The news will be worrying for Arsenal ahead of their Premier League showdown with Tottenham immediately after the international break.
Declan Rice is already missing the game through suspension, while Mikel Merino is also out due to an injury sustained in his very first training session with the Gunners.
"He had a collision and he has a shoulder injury unfortunately," manager Mikel Arteta said. "It looks like he's going to be out for a few weeks.
"First session. He was really excited and everything was looking really good. He landed on the floor and Gabi [Magalhaes] landed on top of him and it looks like he has a small fracture probably."
Jurrien Timber also raised injury concerns after being forced off against Brighton.
However, Arteta seemed less concerned about the issues the defender was facing.
"No, he was I think cramping," the Arsenal told reporters after the Brighton boss.
"He got a kick in the first half and was cramping so we had to take him off."
Arsenal will face Tottenham on September 15 at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
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