Italy star faces a race against time to be fit for Euro 2020

Italian midfield star Nicolo Zaniolo could miss this summer’s European Championships after rupturing his cruciate knee ligament as Roma lost 2-1 to Juventus at the Stadio Olimpico on Sunday night. This will come as a huge setback for the Giallorossi, who will now look for a replacement in the January transfer window and it will be equally concerning for Azzurri boss Roberto Mancini, who was in the stands for the weekends big Serie A showdown.

Zaniolo shot to stardom with Roma last season, but disciplinary problems saw him dropped from the Italian Under 21 side during last summer’s European championships that were held in the peninsula. This term however, he has been one of Serie A’s stand-out performers and looked set to be one of the main protagonists in Euro 2020. The 20-year-old will undergo surgery at the club’s Villa Stuart medical centre on Monday, before facing a race against time to be fit for the summer when Italy will play their three group games at the Stadio Olimpico.

Back in 2006, Roma legend Francesco Totti got injured in the run-up to the World Cup in Germany, but made it back in time to be part of Marcello Lippi’s side who went on to lift the trophy in Berlin. Zaniolo will take heart from this and Mancini will be keeping his fingers crossed that his rehabilitation will be swift and problem free.