Arsenal international pulls out of break with new injury | OneFootball

The Italian national team have confirmed that Riccardo Calafiori has suffered a knee injury and returned to Arsenal, midway through the March international break.

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The Italian national team confirmed on Friday afternoon that Arsenal defender Riccardo Calafiori is returning to Arsenal, following an injury in their game against Germany earlier this week.

According to the statement, Calafiori underwent medical tests on Friday morning to assess the injury in his left knee, and he was subsequently deemed to be unavailable for the return leg of the Germany tie.

Di Marzio had reported earlier in the day that Calafiori has a knee ligament injury, but the good news is that the initial signs are that it’s not a serious one.

Even so, the player is expected to miss two or three weeks of action, and Arsenal will carry out further assessments upon the defender’s return.

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A two-week absence would see Calafiori missing Arsenal’s upcoming games against Fulham and Everton, whilst three weeks could mean he also misses the first leg of Arsenal’s Champions League quarter-final against Real Madrid and the following Premier League game against Brentford.

If the defender does miss the full three weeks, you’d imagine he’ll also be a serious doubt to start the second leg of the Champions League quarter-final in Madrid.

That still leaves six Premier League games and any further Champions League fixtures Arsenal could potentially still play, so Calafiori’s season is far from over. But it’s another frustrating setback.

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This will be Calafiori’s third knee injury of the season, in addition to the two muscle injuries he’s had since joining Arsenal last summer.

The 22-year-old has played 26 times this season, but on the other side he’s missed 14 games. That number of absences is seemingly only set to increase in the coming weeks.