ITALY HAVE BEEN dealt a major blow as news that Giuseppe Rossi will miss this summer’s European Championship finals emerged this afternoon.
The Euro 2000 runners-up are one of three teams Ireland will face in Group C in June, when ex-Azzurri boss Giovanni Trapattoni pits his wits against current manager Cesare Prandelli, who played under Trap at Juventus during the ’80s.
Villarreal striker Rossi has been out of action since October when he injured his knee playing against Real Madrid but was close to returning to first-team action. However, the La Liga strugglers have announced on their website that the former Manchester United player has torn his anterior cruciate ligament.
The 25-year-old featured in seven of Italy’s qualifiers, the third highest for a striker behind Antonio Cassano and Giampaolo Pazzini, and scored one goal but is now likely to be sidelined for six months meaning he will not be in the 23-man squad which travels to Poland.
With Milan frontman Cassano only recently resuming training after heart surgery and this latest news about Rossi, Prandelli may yet call upon Mario Balotelli.
Manchester City’s controversial forward was dropped from the national team in February after stamping on Scott Parker during a club game but after another sending off at Arsenal last Sunday, he appealed to the coach to take him to April’s training camp.
