Azzurrini get Palladino blow Thursday 22 March, 2007
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Juventus man Raffaele Palladino has been forced to pull out of Saturday’s U-21 friendly match with England because of a knee injury.
The in-form striker, who scored a hat-trick in the Bianconeri’s match with Triestina on Monday, has been dealing with the problem in the past few weeks.
But the pain in his right knee has become more acute since meeting up with the Azzurrini, causing Pierluigi Casiraghi to replace him with Parma midfielder Daniele Dessena.
The Gialloblu player will join the rest of the team on Thursday afternoon, when the squad will depart for England.
The Azzurrini will play at the new Wembley Stadium on Saturday in the first competitive match to take place in the venue since 2000, in front of 60,000 spectators.
The clash with England, which will kick off at 12.30pm local time, is Casiraghi’s side’s last test before the U-21 European Championships in Holland this summer.
The Finals will be held between June 10 to 23 and the five-time champions will face England, Serbia and the Czech Republic in Group B.