Undoubtedly one of the break-out stars of Euro 2020 has been Italy full-back Leonardo Spinazzola.
His marauding runs down the left have been a major contributor to the Italian side's consistently excellent form, and his ruptured Achilles suffered during the win over Belgium has been one of the disappointments of the last round.
The Italian side, led by manager Roberto Mancini returned from Munich looking ahead to a Euro 2020 semi-final with Spain on Tuesday night.
Spinazzola
Mancini has assiduously fostered a group mentality with a team who extended their unbeaten streak on the international stage to 32 games on Friday evening.
It showed, as a video of the team serenading Spinazzola was shared on social media.
#Nazionale 🇮🇹
✈️ #MonacoDiBaviera ➡️ #Firenze ✈️#Azzurri #VivoAzzurro #BelgioItalia #BELITA #ITA #EURO2020 pic.twitter.com/CRgykeZsmZ— Nazionale Italiana ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (@Azzurri) July 3, 2021
The warm reception for Spinazzola continued on the Azzurri's return to Coverciano, their base in Italy.
Gli #Azzurri abbracciano #Spinazzola
Torna presto Leo! 💪🏻#Coverciano#Nazionale 🇮🇹 #Azzurri #VivoAzzurro pic.twitter.com/MVPbtembju— Nazionale Italiana ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (@Azzurri) July 3, 2021
Spinazzola's club, AS Roma, confirmed the injury and the rehab needed to get him back on the pitch.
“The club can confirm that Leonardo Spinazzola underwent surgery on Monday to repair the Achilles tendon in his left leg, following the injury suffered during Italy’s win over Belgium at Euro 2020 on July 2,” Roma’s official statement read.
“The surgery, which was completed in Turku, Finland by Prof. Lasse Lempainen under the observation of the club’s Chief Doctor Massimo Manara, was successfully completed.
“The player’s condition and likely recovery period will continue to be assessed over the coming weeks.”
“Surgery went well,” Spinazzola wrote on Instagram.
“Thank you to everyone for showing me such support, there have really been so many of you.
“The countdown starts now … we’ll see each other again soon.”
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