Liverpool attacker Federico Chiesa has now been ruled out of Italy’s upcoming World Cup playoffs, as another injury concern troubles Arne Slot’s camp.
Slot’s Reds haven’t been blessed with the best injury luck, as of late, as both Alisson and Mohamed Salah were sidelined for Liverpool’s last trip, away to Brighton and Hove Albion.
Even if both first-teamers were fully fit for the away match, Liverpool would have likely collapsed to a 2-1 defeat, anyway, as a lifeless team performance saw Danny Welbeck bag a brace to hand Slot side. their tenth Premier League defeat of the season.
To make matters worse on the injury front, Hugo Ekitike also pulled up with a worrying knock after just eight minutes had been played at the Amex.
Thankfully, he was only nursing a minor injury, as the Dutchman revealed post-match, with the 23-year-old now linking up with France on international duty.
Chiesa hasn’t had the same luck, in contrast, as the Italian’s dire 2025/26 season has hit another low, with the former Juventus man now having to withdraw from the Azzuri national team squad.
Federico Chiesa: 2025/26 season stats:
| Competition | Appearances | Starts | Minutes played |
| Premier League | 22 | 1 | 265 mins |
| Champions League | 5 | 0 | 78 mins |
| EFL Cup | 2 | 2 | 150 mins |
| FA Cup | 2 | 2 | 137 mins |
| Total | 31 | 5 | 660 mins |
Chiesa’s withdrawal from Italy squad
Chiesa would have been champing at the bit to feature for Gennaro Gattuso’s men during the break, having only managed to feature for a minimal 660 minutes for Liverpool this season.
Indeed, Italy has some huge games ahead, if they want to feature at the upcoming World Cup, with Chiesa a memorable hero for his nation, in the past, with seven goals next to his name from 51 senior caps.
This would have been his first runout for his nation since 2024, as Italy is set to do battle with Northern Ireland, to try and get to their first World Cup tournament since 2014’s iteration.
However, at the final hour, the 28-year-old has had to withdraw from Gattuso’s camp, with a statement from the Italian FA revealing that Chiesa has failed to pass fitness checks, meaning he is now unavailable for selection.
This will be a gutting blow for Chiesa, who would’ve loved to pick up another goal for his nation, to distract himself from his miserable Liverpool career under Slot.
The £13m forward last picked up a Premier League goal for the Reds back in September, as he is now routinely utilised by the Dutchman as an unconvincing late substitute option.
Only managing a weak five touches of the ball at the Amex, the Premier League title winner will surely be considering an exit route out of Anfield in the near future, to try and become an Italy regular again.
For the time being, though, he will have to deal with his shoddy fitness levels getting the better of him, with no more caps for his beloved Azzuri coming his way, during the tense World Cup playoffs that await Gattuso’s men.
