FLORENCE, Italy — Napoli forward Lorenzo Insigne pulled out of the Italy squad with a knee injury on Wednesday, depriving coach Antonio Conte of a player who has been in sparkling form recently.
Insigne scored twice in Napoli’s 4-0 win at AC Milan on Sunday, taking his tally to five goals in seven Serie A matches — the same number he scored in total over the previous two seasons.
But the 24-year-old injured his right knee against Milan and was unable to train with his international teammates on Tuesday ahead of European Championship qualifiers against Azerbaijan and Norway.
The Italian football federation said that although his condition had improved, Insigne was still in pain and would leave the Coverciano training camp on the outskirts of Florence and return to his club for treatment.
It is the second injury withdrawal from the squad, after Sassuolo uncapped forward Domenico Berardi. Conte has called up Milan midfielder Giacomo Bonaventura, who will link up with the Italy squad in the evening.
Italy visits Azerbaijan on Saturday, then plays Norway in Rome on Tuesday.
Conte’s team is top of Group H, two points ahead of Norway.
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