Nicolò Zaniolo is highly unlikely to be able to participate in Euro 2021. The Roma attacker underwent a check-up in Innsbruck yesterday, visiting with professor Christian Fink that performed the surgery on his knee. He was hoping to take the next step in his recovery, but it has been slowed down by the fact that he contracted COVID in January, SportMediaset reports.
There was optimism earlier in the season about his return for the final matches. However, he was unable to practice for three weeks at the beginning of the year because of COVID. The work he did on his own at home could not replicate what he was supposed to do on the pitch at the training center. As a result, he has not been able to fully re-gain the muscular tone and the whole timetable has been pushed back.
The professor, who was against an early comeback to begin with, suggested to take it slow. The starlet will continue to practice with the Primavera team and will look to play in some matches in early May. At best, he will feature in the final three games of the season in Serie A, which should not be enough for him to earn a spot with the Azzurri.
His likely absence will open up a spot in the roster, which could be filled by Federico Bernardeschi, Vincenzo Grifo or Stephan El Shaarawy, while Domenico Berardi is now considered a lock. Zaniolo has not played since August due to an ACL tear, the second, one in each knee, in the span of a year.