Daniele De Rossi to miss Italy-Germany Euro 2016 quarterfinal with thigh injury

Posted Thursday, June 30, 2016 by ESPN

Daniele De Rossi is set to miss Italy's Euro 2016 quarterfinal clash with Germany due to a thigh injury.

The Roma midfielder limped out of Monday's 2-0 win over Spain in the round of 16 after taking a knock to his thigh and the Italy team doctor Enrico Castellacci admitted it is going to be touch-and-go for him to recover.

"During the game against Spain he took a strong blow to his right thigh," Castellacci said. "It caused a bruise, but not only that -- it also saw a few fibres of the muscle displaced.

"For him too, we're doing everything. The lad's working really hard. We're not excluding anything, even if we are aware of the severity of the problem."

With Thiago Motta suspended, coach Antonio Conte does not have a like-for-like replacement, while he is unlikely to be able to welcome Antonio Candreva back into his squad either, with the Lazio winger also sidelined since Italy's second group game in France.

"Candreva has had a serious muscular sprain to his adductor so he's tried in every way, working really hard with a lot of effort, to recover," Castellacci said. "There have been clear improvements, but not enough to be considered to come back into the squad yet.

"We've done further tests which have confirmed an improvement to the injury, but certainly he's not cured. He'll carry on working with the same effort to recover."

Conte is likely to turn to Juventus midfielder Stefeno Sturaro to stand in with Lazio's Marco Parolo moving into the centre of the midfield.

For Roma midfielder Alessandro Florenzi, the loss of any player will not compromise Italy's plans or affect their ambitions in France.

"I think whoever thinks that is a loser," he said at a news conference in Montpellier. "Who complains because Germany had an extra day of rest -- these are just excuses for losers. We need to take strength from these things and show them on the field.

"All 23 of us know we can do something really huge. We're united and aware that we're a good team and we can do something really huge."