Ciro Immobile will miss European champions Italy’s key World Cup qualifying clashes with Switzerland and Northern Ireland after being ruled out of the matches with a calf injury on Tuesday.
Italy coach Roberto Mancini had picked Lazio forward Immobile, who leads the Serie A scoring charts with 10 goals in 11 appearances, in the Azzurri squad for their final two Group C matches on Friday and Monday.
However on Tuesday the Italian Football Federation said the 31-year-old would leave the national team camp due to the injury, with Mancini calling up Sassuolo attacker Gianluca Scamacca in his place.
Group leaders Italy take to the field at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome on Friday level on 14 points with the Swiss with two games remaining in the race to the 2022 tournament in Qatar, hoping for a win before taking on Northern Ireland at Windsor Park three days later.