Cannavaro to miss Italy's opener

Italy captain Fabio Cannavaro will miss his country's opening match at the Confederations Cup tomorrow because of injury and could be out for their next game too, according to Italian officials. Cannavaro, 35, has a calf strain that stopped him from...

Italy captain Fabio Cannavaro will miss his country's opening match at the Confederations Cup tomorrow because of injury and could be out for their next game too, according to Italian officials.

Cannavaro, 35, has a calf strain that stopped him from training with the rest of the squad last week or playing in the warm up matches ahead of the start of the eight-team tournament, team doctor Enrico Castellacci told reporters yesterday.

Italy meet the United States in their opening Group B match in Pretoria and play Egypt next on Thursday.

The World Cup winning captain, who is returning to Juventus after a spell at Real Madrid, missed the 4-3 win over New Zealand in midweek and a training match against a local team on Friday.

Cannavaro is two matches away from matching Paolo Maldini's record of 126 caps for Italy.

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