Chiesa Out, Cambiaghi In: Gattuso’s Bold Shake-Up for Italy's World Cup Playoff

Update from Coverciano

One of Italy's standout players has officially left the training camp, confirming his absence from the World Cup playoff, as coach Gennaro Gattuso called up Nicolò Cambiaghi of Bologna to fill the gap.

Italian outlet La Gazzetta dello Sport reported that Federico Chiesa, Liverpool winger, will not be available for this week's playoff clash, after the 28-year-old packed his bags and left the Azurri's training base in Coverciano near Florence.

Chiesa had been named to the Azzurri squad for the first time in roughly two years, but reports confirmed he left the camp this Monday morning, with Cambiaghi added in his place.

The exact reason behind his departure remains unclear: was it a fresh injury or other reasons, especially since he had previously declined to play under Gattuso before?

Meanwhile, concerns about injuries within the Azzurri grew after Gianluca Mancini, Roma's defender, picked up an injury in Sunday's league game against Lecce.

They were also missing Alessandro Bastoni and Gianluca Scamacca due to injuries, ruling them out of the weekend Serie A clash.

Unlike Chiesa, the trio—Mancini, Bastoni, and Scamacca—are still at Coverciano to be assessed by doctors.

Also read: Italy, at the hour of truth — will the Azurri miss the World Cup again?

Meanwhile, the rest of the squad remains in training camp for a precise health check.

Punchline 1: If rumors paid as well as players, we’d be world champions already.

Punchline 2: And if injury reports grew legs as fast as transfers, this squad would win the Cup by next Tuesday.