Italy captain Sergio Parisse will miss his country's Rugby World Cup opening match against France next weekend.
The No.8 has not fully recovered after having fluid drained from a haematoma received during Italy's 23-19 defeat to Wales last week.
Parisse was operated upon on Monday but team manager Luigi Troiani confirmed he will be unavailable for the match at Twickenham.
"We hope he will recover for the [next] match with Canada," said Troiani.
Should Parisse recover in time, the 31-year-old will feature in his fourth World Cup.
Written by
Calum Gillon
Calum Gillon
