Italy midfielder Claudio Marchisio is to miss Euro 2016 after his club Juventus confirmed he has ruptured the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee.
Juventus star Marchisio was stretchered off 15 minutes into the champions’ 4-0 victory over US Citta di Palermo in Turin after a challenge that left him rolling on the turf in pain.
Juve’s victory took their Serie A lead over SSC Napoli to nine points with five matches remaining, but the shine of that achievement was tempered by the injury setback to Marchisio.
Subjected to an MRI scan immediately after the game, the Italian champions released a statement that Italy fans — given Marchisio’s contributions to the team — did not want to hear.
“The scan confirmed suspicions of a ruptured anterior crucial ligament in the left knee,” Juventus said on their Web site. “In the coming days the player will undergo an operation.”
A return to competitive action can take six to nine months, meaning Marchisio is ruled out for the rest of the season and will miss this summer’s showpiece in France.
It is a significant blow to the Azzurri ahead of Euro 2016, where Italy will be looking to make amends for two consecutive first-round exits from the past two editions of the FIFA World Cup finals.
In a picture taken at his home, Marchisio cut a gloomy figure in an Instagram post.
“Just got back home. The news from the MRI only makes me feel bad, but these are the risks of our profession. I have the strength and the determination to come back strong and as soon as possible,” he wrote.
Elsewhere on Sunday while Francesco Totti bagged a dramatic late equalizer as AS Roma drew 3-3 at Atalanta BC.
Totti’s future at Roma is unresolved after a testing season and a strained relationship with coach Luciano Spalletti, but the 39-year-old demonstrated his enduring class with an 85th-minute equalizer in a thrilling six-goal draw.
Roma went 2-0 up inside the first half an hour after goals from Lucas Digne and Radja Nainggolan, before Marco D’Alessandro halved the deficit in the 33rd minute.
Roma old boy Marco Borriello came back to haunt his former club with his first goal for Atalanta as his excellent header evaded Wojciech Szczesny and he fired the hosts ahead in the 50th minute.
Totti had the final say as he hammered home Alessandro Florenzi’s cutback for the 301st goal of his glittering career.
Spalletti was sent to the stands in the dying minutes of the draw, which left his side four points clear of fourth-placed Inter in the race for the final UEFA Champions League berth.
“We often lose our heads,” Spalletti said. “Totti’s goal doesn’t change anything for me. If he wants to be a player, he’ll be a player. The team still won nine games without him.”
After the match, Spalletti released a statement refuting reports in the Italian media that he and Totti had a physical confrontation in the tunnel following the game.
“I was very surprised by what I read, as I was sent off I didn’t join my players in the tunnel,” Spalletti told the club’s Web site. “I categorically deny that there was a dispute or, worse still, a physical confrontation with any of my players. I never put my hands on my players.”
Also on Sunday, fifth-placed ACF Fiorentina beat US Sassuolo 3-1 and remain seven points clear of AC Milan, who won 1-0 at UC Sampdoria in Christian Brocchi’s first match in charge thanks to Carlos Bacca’s 71st-minute strike. SS Lazio defeated Empoli 2-0, Frosinone won 2-1 at Hellas Verona and Udinese were held goalless by AC Chievo Verona.
Additional reporting by staff writer
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