Italy suffered a serious blow ahead of next month's World Cup when midfielder Riccardo Montolivo broke his leg during a warmup game against Ireland at Craven Cottage on Saturday.
"It's what we feared, a fractured tibia. It will probably need some months, Riccardo is out of the World Cup. He didn't deserve this," team doctor Enrico Castellacci told Rai TV.
The elegant AC Milan midfielder was accidentally caught in a challenge by defender Alex Pearce after 10 minutes and, having stood up to test his leg, went to ground and was carried off on a stretcher after five minutes of treatment on the field.
The 29-year-old Montolivo was taken to hospital for an X-ray where it was confirmed he had suffered a fractured tibia.
Italy also had to substitute Montolivo's replacement Alberto Aquilani, who only played for 23 minutes before he went off after taking a knock to the head in a match that finished 0-0.