Riccardo Calafiori forced off as Arsenal injury curse strikes again with Italy ace

Arsenal have been dealt a significant injury worry during the international break, with Riccardo Calafiori appearing to sustain a problem whilst representing Italy on Friday evening.

The Gunners won the race to secure the signature of the defender over the summer, striking a deal worth £42million to acquire the services of the 22-year-old from Bologna.

Calafiori is yet to make a competitive start for Arsenal since touching down in England, coming off of the bench against both Brighton and Aston Villa last month.

However, Mikel Arteta will be hoping that the versatile defender is available to make his first competitive start for Arsenal upon the conclusion of the international break.

Calafiori appeared to limp off of the pitch in pain during Italy’s 3-1 victory over France in the Nations League on Friday evening following a freak coming together with Paris Saint-Germain ace Ousmane Dembele.

The France winger was looking to race into the Italy penalty area before Alessandro Bastoni cut across the forward and put an end to the attack with a crunching slide tackle.

Dembele was sent flying through the air before colliding with Calafiori as he came tumbling down to the ground. But whilst twisting in the air, Dembele’s foot hit the back of Calafiori’s calf before landing on his ankle, leaving both players in pain.

Calafiori quickly wailed in pain as his teammates rushed to his aid, with Inter Milan defender Federico Dimarco quickly signalling to the bench that the No. 5 needed medical attention as soon as possible and would likely need to be substituted off.

After receiving some treatment on the pitch, Italy boss Luciano Spalletti was given no choice but to replace the defender with Napoli’s Alessandro Buoningiorno in the 71st minute.

Speaking about the substitution after the match, the Italy boss played down the severity of the incident and hinted that Calafiori could be fit to face Israel on Monday night. He said: “We need to assess Riccardo but with our staff, we’ve a good chance to have him back with us for the next game.”

Arteta will be hoping that Spalletti opts against playing Calafiori for the clash next week though given that his side have the North London derby to prepare for.

The Gunners will already be without Declan Rice for the clash following his red card against Brighton, and his manager will be keen to avoid any other stars being absent for the clash.