Riccardo Calafiori is not raising much concern ahead of the upcoming North London Derby despite leaving the Italy camp during the international break following an injury. The 22-year-old was forced off on Friday night in a 3-1 win over France, sparking worries that he could be set to miss the clash at Tottenham.
Taken off with 20 minutes left to play, Calafiori will be assessed by Arsenal’s medical team ahead of the trip to Tottenham on Sunday in the week to come. It comes after the defender was collided with by Paris Saint-Germain winger Ousmane Dembele.
A result of a freak incident, Calafiori spent some time on the floor in pain after his calf was hit. Calafiori also caught his ankle in the ground. Luciano Spalletti had been hopeful of keeping the former Bologna man – “We need to assess Riccardo, but with our staff, we’ve a good chance to have him back with us for the next game – but that hasn’t been the case.
Luckily for Arsenal, who will already be without Declan Rice for the first North London Derby of the season after his red card against Brighton before the break, Calafiori himself has not offered reason to believe it is a serious injury.
