Italy consider Maldini call after Scamacca injury blow
Lazio forward Daniel Maldini is tipped to potentially receive an Italy call-up for the World Cup play-offs after Gianluca Scamacca’s injury, but it is not yet clear whether there will be a replacement.
Coach Gennaro Gattuso named his group for the decisive steps towards qualification for the 2026 World Cup in Canada, Mexico and the USA.
However, he was immediately forced into changes, because Atalanta confirmed Scamacca has sustained a muscular issue in training and the lesion to the adductor in the right leg rules him out for several weeks.
Inter are also keeping the Azzurri on edge after announcing Alessandro Bastoni won’t be in their group to face Fiorentina this weekend, and will require tests with the Nazionale staff to see if he could recover for the play-offs.
Maldini top option for Italy attack
According to La Gazzetta dello Sport, Daniel Maldini is the most likely candidate to step in, should Gattuso choose to call in an extra player to replace Scamacca.
That is by no means certain right now, as Gattuso still has 27 players to draw from.
Maldini is more of a support striker than a centre-forward, but has been used in that role by Maurizio Sarri since the move to Lazio in January.
The 24-year-old scored just one goal all season with three assists in 19 competitive games.