EURO 2008 INFO

The Italian FA have confirmed the bad news all Azzurri fans were fearing: captain Fabio Cannavaro's injury rules him out of Euro 2008.

This afternoon, World Cup winning captain Fabio Cannavaro suffered a knock to his ankle after a clash with Juventus hard man Giorgio Chiellini during Italy's training session. After staying on the ground for a while, he was taken off on a stretcher and then to hospital.

Tests confirmed that the injury is serious and the player will probably require surgery. More tests will be made in the next 48 hours to ascertain the specifics of the injury, but one thing is for sure: he will not be able to take part to Euro 2008.

The name of his replacement will be announced in the next few hours by coach Roberto Donadoni. It will most probably be Fiorentina defender Alessandro Gamberini, who will act as a like-for-like replacement.

After the player had been examined, Italian journalists awaited the news and Cannavaro regrettably told them: "I'm going home," with a melancholic smile on his face.