Arsenal handed Riccardo Calafiori injury scare as defender ruled out for Italy

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·12 November 2025

Arsenal handed Riccardo Calafiori injury scare as defender ruled out for Italy

Defender training away from the Azzurri squad after being ruled out of next match

Ruled out: Riccardo Calafiori

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Arsenal defender Riccardo Calafiori has suffered an injury scare while on international duty with Italy.

The versatile defender joined up with the Azzurri squad in Florence earlier this week but, according to local reports, trained separately from the group on Wednesday morning due to a hip problem.

It remains unclear when Calafiori picked up the issue, with the defender playing 90 minutes for Arsenal on Saturday evening as the Premier League title favourites dropped two points at Sunderland.

TuttoMercatoWeb report that Calafiori has been ruled out of Thursday's 2026 World Cup qualifier against Moldova, and will be following an individual training programme in a bid to be fit to face Norway on Sunday.

The Italy squad will travel to Moldova tonight, with head coach Gennaro Gattuso set to offer an update on Calafiori’s fitness at his pre-match press conference on Wednesday evening.

Arsenal will hope for the best, having seen Calafiori suffer a knee injury while on international duty with Italy in March, which saw him miss 10 games for club and country as the Gunners' title charge and Champions League hopes died.

TuttoSport report that the Azzurri coaching staff remain positive over Calafiori's fitness, with the defender remaining with the squad rather than returning to Arsenal.