Gianluca Mancini injury: who replaces him for Italy
Gianluca Mancini misses Italy vs France and Belgium with a hamstring strain. The defenders Italy have instead, when he returns for Roma, and the odds.
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Gianluca Mancini misses Italy's last two Nations League group games with a strain in his right hamstring. The FIGC announced on Saturday 7 November that the Roma defender had withdrawn and would stay with his club for treatment, so he is out against France at San Siro on Thursday and Belgium in Brussels on Sunday. Nobody was called up in his place like for like: Italy added Matteo Palma the same day and Federico Gatti the next evening, and they already had nine other defenders in the squad.
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How bad is the injury
Not bad, on what Roma have said. La Gazzetta dello Sport reported that Mancini had been carrying the problem for days and hoped to play through it, but the pain came back stronger on the morning of the Sassuolo game. Scans ruled out a tear ("escluse lesioni"); it is a muscle strain, and Roma chose not to risk him. The Gazzetta named Daniele Ghilardi as his stand-in for that game.
The Gazzetta expects Mancini back for Roma's trip to Parma on 21 November, the first match after the break. So this is a two-game absence for Italy and no lasting worry for Roma, if the estimate holds.
Who Italy have instead
The squad lists Mancini's replacements by default. These are the defenders in it, from the FIGC list of 7 November plus Gatti:
| Defender | Club | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Alessandro Bastoni | Inter | One booking from a ban |
| Riccardo Calafiori | Arsenal | |
| Giorgio Scalvini | Atalanta | |
| Daniele Ghilardi | Roma | Roma's stand-in for him v Sassuolo |
| Federico Dimarco | Inter | |
| Honest Ahanor | Crystal Palace | |
| Michael Kayode | Brentford | |
| Marco Palestra | Chelsea | |
| Matteo Palma | Udinese | Born 2008, first senior call-up |
| Federico Gatti | Juventus | Called up 8 November |
Two of those are the obvious like-for-like options. Ghilardi was Roma's choice to stand in for him on 7 November. Gatti was called up, the Gazzetta wrote, as a "safe pair of hands" that Roberto Mancini trusts, though he has started only twice in eleven Serie A games for Juventus this season. Palma is a different story: his call-up had been in the works for weeks and the Gazzetta stresses it was not a replacement. He has played the full 90 minutes in Udinese's last four league games.
The booking problem behind it
The bigger worry for Italy is not Thursday. Eight Italy players, Mancini himself among them, picked up a yellow card in the first four group games, and a second one means a one-match ban. Bastoni is the defender at risk: booked against France, he misses Belgium, the game the Gazzetta calls "probably decisive" for the quarter-final place. Losing Mancini removes one experienced centre-back who could have covered that. It is why Gatti was added.
What the odds say
Unibet France had Italy at 4.25, the draw at 4.00 and France at 1.64 when we read the prices early on 11 November, four days after Mancini withdrew. A withdrawal named on a Saturday is in the price by Wednesday, so the number to watch is not this one but the late team news, as Ousmane Dembélé injury: what France lose in Milan explains from the other side. The table, form and squads for both teams are in our Italy vs France preview.
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What this does not tell you
It does not know Italy's line-up or who starts at centre-back; Roberto Mancini has not said, and the team is confirmed about an hour before kick-off. The return date is the Gazzetta's estimate, not a date from Roma. Prices move, so the odds above are a snapshot from one bookmaker on one morning.
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Common questions
What is Gianluca Mancini's injury?
A muscle strain in his right hamstring. Roma's scans ruled out a tear, but he missed the Sassuolo game on 7 November and withdrew from the Italy squad the same day.
Is Gianluca Mancini playing for Italy against France?
No. The FIGC confirmed on 7 November that he has withdrawn and will stay with Roma for treatment, so he misses France on 12 November and Belgium on 15 November.
When will Gianluca Mancini return for Roma?
La Gazzetta dello Sport expects him back for Roma's trip to Parma on 21 November, the first game after the international break.
Who replaces Gianluca Mancini in the Italy squad?
Nobody directly. Matteo Palma was added the same day after FIFA approved his change of nationality, which was not a replacement, and Federico Gatti was called up the next evening as an extra defender.
Which Italy players are one booking from a suspension?
Eight Italy players, Gianluca Mancini and Alessandro Bastoni among them, picked up a yellow in the first four group games. A booking against France would rule Bastoni out of the Belgium game.
Sources
- FIGC, first Italy call-up for Matteo Palma, Gianluca Mancini withdrawsfigc.it
- La Gazzetta dello Sport, Mancini injury, the scans and when he returnsgazzetta.it
- La Gazzetta dello Sport, why Mancini turned to Gattigazzetta.it
- ANSA, first call for Palma, Mancini stays at homeansa.it
- Unibet France, Italie v France oddsunibet.fr