Midfield star Andrea Pirlo is out of Italy’s opening World Cup match against Paraguay in Cape Town on June 14 owing to a calf strain, team sources said on Friday.
The sources said the AC Milan playmaker “has injured his left calf” and left the squad’s Alpine training headquarters earlier in the day to return to Milan to embark on a recovery programme.
“Professor (and team doctor Enrico) Castellacci has ruled him out of playing against Paraguay,” a team source sold AFP.
But he added Pirlo was still expected to leave for South Africa with his squadmates on June 8 and that everything would be done to ensure he returned to fitness in time for Italy’s other Group F games against Slovakia and New Zealand.
Under FIFA rules a country can replace an injured player until the day before their first match, therefore June 13 in Italy’s case.
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