Despite his recent injury record, Giorgio Chiellini remains a stalwart for both Juventus and the Italian national team.
The captain has been dealing with another setback as of late, but he managed to feature for 45 minutes in the Old Lady’s last fixture against Salernitana.
Therefore, Italy coach Roberto Mancini insisted on calling him up for international duty ahead of the crucial World Cup qualifiers.
The Azzurri will host North Macedonia in the Semi Finals this Thursday, and if they manage to win, they’ll play either Portugal or Turkey in the final on March 29.
But according to Calciomercato via ilBianconero, Chiellini will likely be on the bench for the Azzurri’s Semi Final contest.
The report explains how Mancini doesn’t want to risk the veteran defender in a match that Italy should win on paper. Therefore, he prefers to reserve his energy for the expected final.
The source believes that Gianluca Mancini and Alessandro Bastoni will replace Chiellini and Leonardo Bonucci at the back. They will be joined by Alessandro Florenzi and Emerson Palmieri on the flanks.
Mancini will once again rely on his tried and tested midfield trio of Nicolò Barella, Jorginho and Marco Verratti.
As for the attack, Ciro Immobile should be flanked by Domenico Berardi and Lorenzo Insigne, in a formation that uncustomary lacks a single Juventus players
Italy Probable XI (4-3-3): Donnarumma; Florenzi, Mancini, Bastoni, Emerson; Barella, Jorginho, Verratti; Berardi, Immobile, Insigne
