Nicolò Zaniolo Leaves Italy Camp With Muscle Injury as Mancini Recall Ends Early

A recall cut short

Nicolò Zaniolo is heading home. His long-awaited return to the national team has ended before it even began, with the midfielder leaving Italy's camp on Saturday after suffering a muscle injury, as first reported by Sky Sport.

Roberto Mancini had left Zaniolo in the stands for the debut of his new-look Italy side against Belgium in the UEFA Nations League, a match the Azzurri lost 2-0. The plan was to reintegrate him gradually. The muscle problem means the reset will have to wait for the next window instead.

Mancini will therefore have to wait to bring him back into the fold — a fold he first invited the player into back in 2018, when Zaniolo, then 19, had just been bought by Roma but had not even made his Serie A debut. The symmetry is painful: recalled as a symbol of a new era, gone again before kicking a ball.

A career of stops and starts

It is a familiar frustration for a player whose career has been repeatedly interrupted by physical setbacks. From the anterior cruciate injury that wiped out a full season at Roma to the series of muscle complaints that followed his moves around Italy and beyond, Zaniolo's talent has never been in question — his availability has.

Eight years on, the wait for a steady run in an Italy shirt goes on. For Mancini, rebuilding the national team around a core of fit, available players, an attacker who cannot complete a camp is a problem he cannot plan around — however much talent Zaniolo brings.

What it means

Zaniolo now returns to his club to begin recovery work, with his availability for the return of domestic football depending on the severity assessed in the coming days. For Italy, the focus shifts to the remainder of the Nations League window without him — and to whether his next recall can finally last more than a few days.