Riccardo Calafiori issues Arsenal injury update after 'pain' complaint

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Evening Standard

·24 mars 2026

Riccardo Calafiori issues Arsenal injury update after 'pain' complaint

Defender’s involvement for Italy had been thrown into doubt

Riccardo Calafiori has issued an update on his fitness after complaining of “pain” following Arsenal’s Carabao Cup final defeat.

The defender came off the bench at Wembley Stadium on Sunday, but was unable to help his team avoid a 2-0 defeat to Manchester City.

Calafiori was soon on a plane to the Italy national team camp, where he has joined up with his Azzurri team-mates as they look to secure their spot at the summer World Cup via the play-offs.

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Italy head coach Gennaro Gattuso revealed on Monday that Calafiori had arrived complaining of “a little pain”, adding: “We expect to have him back.”

And now Calafiori has spoken to the media to confirm: “I think I’m okay, we’ll see in training today.”

Arsenal will be keen to avoid another player coming down with an injury.

The Gunners have already seen six players skip international duty due to fitness concerns.

Captain Martin Odegaard will play no part for Norway, having been sidelined for the last month with a knee injury/

Eberechi Eze and Jurrien Timber had to withdraw from the England and Netherlands squads, respectively, due to injuries picked up during the week prior.

Gabriel, William Saliba and Leandro Trossard all played at Wembley, as Arsenal lost a fourth Carabao Cup final in a row, but hours after withdrew from international duty.

Defensive pair Gabriel and Saliba have removed themselves from contention for Brazil and France, respectively, while Trossard is out of the Belgium squad.

Italy play Northern Ireland on Thursday in a World Cup play-off.