Cesare Prandelli says his Italy squad have been left shocked and deflated after Riccardo Montolivo’s serious leg injury marred Saturday’s World Cup warm-up draw with the Republic of Ireland.
The 29-year-old midfielder is out of the tournament in Brazil after suffering a fractured tibia bone early in the first half in a challenge with Alex Pearce.
Medical staff confirmed that Montolivo is expected to require surgery and will not travel back to Florence with the rest of the Italy squad.
All the lads were shocked tonight by what happened
Cesare Prandelli
“In this moment our thoughts are with Riccardo,” said Prandelli. “We’ll evaluate it tomorrow. Everyone got distracted by the incident and it’s too emotional at the moment.
“It’s very difficult to discuss the performance tonight. The psychological impact of what happened to Montolivo affected all of the players.
“Every player sees Montolivo as key for the squad. He’s a point of reference both on and off the pitch for his behaviour and his attitude. All the lads were shocked tonight by what happened.”
The Italy manager added: “With regards to the [World Cup] squad, we will have to make a detailed analysis tomorrow. We need to be very rational – let’s wait for a day.”
Meanwhile, Ireland boss Martin O’Neill was delighted by his side’s display in west London.
“There was a 10 to 15 minute spell in the first half when we were really excellent and we continued that into the second half,” said O’Neill. “I thought our play was great and it was very competitive from start to finish.”