Fabrizio Romano provides injury update on Arsenal star Riccardo Calafiori as he leaves Italy camp and returns to England
Arsenal defender Riccardo Calafiori reportedly didn't sustain any serious injury in Italy's 3-1 win over France in their UEFA Nations League opener on Friday. The 22-year-old arrived at the Emirates this summer from Bologna.
The Azzurri ran riot at the Parc des Princes, emphatically recovering from Bradley Barcola's first-minute opener for the hosts. Luciano Spalletti's side drew level through Federico DiMarco at the half-four mark before Davide Frattesi put them ahead six minutes after the break,
The next goal of the game also came from the Azzurri - with Giacomo Raspadori putting the Euro 2020 champions 3-1 in front. However, the night ended on a sour note, as Calafiori suffered a freak injury.
Under a challenge from Alessandro Bastoni, France attacker Ousmane Dembele fell to the turf, catching Calafiori's ankle as he went down. Spalletti had said about Calafiori's injury (as per Daily Mail):
"We need to assess Riccardo but with our staff, we’ve a good chance to have him back with us for the next game."
However, the defender is out of the Azzurri's next game with Israel on Monday. As per transfer guru Fabrizio Romano, Calafiori has left the Azzurri camp and arrived at the Emirates, but the injury is only said to be a 'knock' and nothing serious. Nevertheless, the Gunners plan to assess him next week.
Calafiori's availability for the Gunners' trip to Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League on Sunday (September 15) seems uncertain at this point, though.
How have Arsenal fared this season?
Arsenal have made a decent start to the new season. Having finished runners-up in the Premier League in the last two campaigns - both times to Manchester City - Mikel Arteta's side kicked off proceedings with a 2-0 home win over Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Kai Havertz and Bukayo Saka scored either side of half-time, with each man also assisting the other. In their next outing, Arteta's side won 2-0 at Aston Villa - whose 2-0 win earlier this year at the Emirates eventually derailed the Gunners' title charge as they fell two points short to City.
It marked the Gunners' best start to a league season in more than five decades - winning the opening two games without conceding. However, Arteta's side's perfect start to the season came to an end with a 1-1 home draw with Brighton & Hove Albion in a game that saw Declan Rice get controversially sent off.