PSG superstar withdraws from national team squad due to injury fears

Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) midfielder Marco Verratti has reportedly withdrawn from international duty after preliminary tests in Italy's camp revealed that he had some fitness issues, as per Serie A news outlet Get Italian Football News.

Verratti was named in manager Roberto Mancini's 29-man Italy squad for the upcoming UEFA Nations League games this month. The Italians are scheduled to face England at the San Siro on Friday (September 23) before traveling to Budapest to take on Hungary three days later.

The Euro 2020 champions are third in Group A League 3 after amassing five points in four games. Hungary are on top with seven points while Germany are second with six points to their name.

England are bottom of the group with no wins and two draws from their four matches. Italy will be without Verratti for their final two group games in September and the former Pescara midfielder has been replaced by Sassuolo's Davide Frattesi.

Verratti's PSG teammate Gianluigi Donnarumma is expected to be between the sticks against the Three Lions and the Hungarians.

The midfielder has been an important part of manager Christophe Galtier's starting XI.

He has one assist in 11 games across all competitions this season. He came off injured in the 63rd minute of his team's 1-0 Ligue 1 win against Olympique Lyonnais on Sunday (September 18).

The extent of the injury is unknown as of now. Le Parisiens' next game is against OGC Nice in the league on October 1 after the conclusion of the September international break.

This would have been the last Italy squad Mancini named before the FIFA World Cup in Qatar. Gli Azzurri, however, failed to qualify for the showpiece event in Qatar after losing 1–0 in the semi-finals of the play-offs against North Macedonia on March 24 this year.

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Galtier laments Marco Verratti blow in PSG's win against Lyon

Manager Christophe Galtier described Verratti's injury as a blow for PSG and claimed that the midfielder will not play for Italy this month.

Speaking after the full-time whistle at the Groupama Stadium, the French manager said (h/t Egyptian media Ahram Online):

"It's a blow He was supposed to go and join up with the (Italian) national team tonight (but) he will come back to Paris for tests."

Lionel Messi's fifth-minute strike was enough to hand the defending French top-division champions an important win against Lyon. They are now two points clear at the top after eight matches, as second-placed Olympique de Marseille drew 1-1 against Rennes on Sunday (September 18).