Italy manager Roberto Mancini has explained why Chelsea star Jorginho has not been called-up to the Azzurri squad for the start of their World Cup qualifying campaign.
The former Manchester City boss named as many as 38 players for the World Cup qualifiers a few days ago.
While Emerson Palmieri has made the list, his Chelsea teammate Jorginho, who has been a regular starter under Mancini, surprisingly has not.
Interestingly, Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel did not mention anything about Jorginho’s injury issue in the last few days.
But the 29-year-old was not in the matchday squad in their 2-0 win over Sheffield United on Sunday.
RONALDO NEEDS TO STOP WHINING.
It certainly raised a few eyebrows since Jorginho already missed out on the Atletico Madrid win prior to that due to suspension.
Mancini has now explained that the decision to exclude Jorginho from his squad was due to a knee injury.
“As regards to the midfielders, we are really in a bit of difficulty in the centre,” he said in his press conference on Monday (via Washington Post).
“We’re missing Jorginho, who wasn’t well.
“He’d taken a knock to the knee and he wasn’t fit to play in these games so we didn’t risk him.”
Chronicle view
Since Tuchel did not even mention it in his press conference, hopefully it is only a small injury, and Jorginho can recover during the international break.
The former Napoli ace has been an integral part of Tuchel’s plan, having started in 10 of Chelsea’s 14-game unbeaten run under the new manager.