Despite testing positive for Covid-19 last Thursday, Manuel Locatelli still received a callup for international duty.
Luckily for the midfielder, the official Juventus website has announced today that the player has tested negative. Here is the full statement:
“Manuel Locatelli carried out the control with a diagnostic test (swab) for Covid-19 with negative results. The player therefore recovered and no longer subjected to the isolation regime will leave in the evening to join the camp of the Italian national team in Coverciano.”
However, the former Sassuolo man still missed out on Roberto Mancini’s final 23-man squad that will take on North Macedonia in the Semi Finals of the World Cup playoffs.
The former Manchester City manager had to leave out nine other players, including Leonardo Bonucci, who still isn’t fully fit. The list also includes Nicolò Zaniolo, Andrea Belotti and Gianluca Scamacca.
However, Locatelli could be part of the squad that competes in the final on March 29 against either Portugal or Turkey (if Italy makes it past their opponents this evening).
On the contrary, Juventus captain Giorgio Chiellini made it to the list despite his injury concern. Mattia De Sciglio is the other Bianconeri player in the final list. However, both players are unlikely to start the match.
So here is the final 23-man squad that will partake in the Azzurri’s Semi Final clash against the North Macedonians, as published by ilBianconero:
Goalkeepers: 14 Alessio Cragno (Cagliari), 21 Gianluigi Donnarumma (Paris Saint Germain), 1 Salvatore Sirigu (Genoa);
Defenders: 15 Francesco Acerbi (Lazio), 23 Alessandro Bastoni (Inter), 3 Giorgio Chiellini (Juventus), 2 Mattia De Sciglio (Juventus), 13 Emerson Palmieri (Lyon), 16 Alessandro Florenzi (Milan), 19 Gianluca Mancini (Roma);
Midfielders: 18 Nicolò Barella (Inter), 5 Bryan Cristante (Roma), 8 Jorginho (Chelsea), 7 Lorenzo Pellegrini (Roma), 12 Matteo Pessina (Atalanta), 4 Sandro Tonali (Milan), 6 Marco Verratti (Paris Saint Germain);
Forwards: 11 Domenico Berardi (Sassuolo), 17 Ciro Immobile (Lazio), 10 Lorenzo Insigne (Napoli), 9 Joao Pedro (Cagliari), 20 Matteo Politano (Napoli), 22 Giacomo Raspadori (Sassuolo).
