Arsenal defender Riccardo Calafiori says he is “fine” after playing the full 90 minutes for Italy on Thursday night.

The 23-year-old was a doubt heading into the game, with national team manager Gennaro Gattuso stating that the fullback had been carrying a minor knock.

However, Calafiori played an important role as the Azzurri secured their place in the World Cup qualifying playoff final with a 2-0 win over Northern Ireland.

Italy will travel to face Bosnia and Herzegovina for a place in the World Cup on Tuesday night.

Calafiori’s fitness problems this season

The Italian international started the campaign fit and available. After a stop-start first twelve months at the Emirates, it looked like he had established himself ahead of Myles Lewis-Skelly in the pecking order.

However, Calafiori picked up a muscular issue just after Christmas that kept him sidelined for about a month.

On his return to fitness, the defender had found that Piero Hincapie had taken his place, and he has only started three matches since then.

The latest Arsenal injury news

It appears that Calafiori will be available for Arsenal’s next game against Southampton in the FA Cup (as long as he comes through the Bosnia match unscathed).

However, manager Mikel Arteta is still sweating over the fitness of six other players. William Saliba (ankle), Gabriel (knee), Leandro Trossard (hip) were all forced to pull out of international duty due to various issues.

Eberechi Eze has been ruled out for four to six weeks with a calf injury that meant he missed the Carabao Cup final against Manchester City last weekend. Mikel Merino is set to be out for the rest of the season after undergoing surgery on his foot.

There is hope that captain Martin Odegaard will be fit following the international break. The attacking midfielder has been unavailable since the North London derby due to a knee problem.

Read more about the Arsenal First Team Squad for 2025/26 here