The Juventus defender suffered a serious strain to his left calf muscle that will keep him out of the group stage of Italy's 2012 Euro campaign. Italy start their campaign against defending champions on Sunday. Barzagli hurt himself in the friendly against Russia, a 3-0 loss which exposed the Italian defense. Giorgio Chiellini also has injury issues making a recent comeback from a similar calf strain.
Apart from injuries, the defense has also lost left back Domenico Criscito under investigation for match fixing in the Calciopoli2 edition. The scandal has also cast a cloud over Leonardo Bonucci although Cesare Prandelli has kept him in the squad. In addition, Gianluigi Buffon is being questioned over alleged football bets that amount to more than €1.5m.
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