G. Gattuso will miss the beginning of the World Cup © EuroFootball.com

Italian football fans received another bad news - one of the national team's key defenders Gennaro Gattuso will miss the first World Cup match against Ghana due to injury, which will take place next Monday.

The 26-year-old footballer has been diagnosed with a quadriceps muscle tear. It is still unclear whether G. Gattuso will be able to play in the match against the United States on June 17th.

This is another headache for coach Marcello Lippi, who will also have to do without right-back Gianluca Zambrotta and center-back Alessandro Nesta in the match against Ghana. However, the latter still has hopes of recovering and appearing on the field.

Simone Perrotta, representing the club, is considered the most realistic candidate to replace G. Gattuso.

It is worth noting that after a serious ankle injury, the next defender Francesco Totti is still not fully recovered.