Italy's star out of Six Nations
INJURY UPDATE: Italy wing Mattia Bellini looks set to miss the Six Nations after being ruled out for four months following surgery on a dislocated right shoulder picked up in the November Test against Australia, his club Zebre revealed.
Bellini, who has a RugbyPass Index score of 58 percent, scored Italy’s only try in the 7-26 defeat to the Wallabies in Padua before going off with a right shoulder injury.
“Bellini has undergone surgery following a dislocation of the right shoulder,” Pro 14 side Zebre said in a statement, adding that “the intervention … was perfectly successful,”
The 24-year-old also suffered ligament damage to the shoulder and a bone fracture. He immediately started physiotherapy after Friday’s surgery with the recovery time estimated at four mouths, Zebre said.
Italy open their Six Nations campaign against Scotland on February 2 in Murrayfield.
Bellini missed Italy’s final November Test against New Zealand, a 66-3 defeat for the hosts in the Stadio Olimpico.
Italy also lost 54-7 to Six Nations champions Ireland in Chicago earlier in the month before beating Georgia 28-17 in Florence.
Agence France-Presse
