Italy will play eight games in the remaining months of 2020, with six Nations League fixtures and two friendlies.

The FIGC released the Azzurri’s revised calendar this morning, with changes enforced by the global coronavirus crisis.

They play post-pandemic for the first time on September 4, opening their Nations League campaign against Bosnia-Herzegovina.

Seven more games will be played over three international breaks, the latter two kicked off by friendlies against Moldova and Estonia, before Italy round off the year with a trip to Bosnia.

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Italy international Nicolò Zaniolo has made his comeback for Roma, six months after tearing his anterior cruciate ligament.

The creative midfielder turned 21 on Thursday and had a late birthday present by getting back on the pitch for the first time since his devastating knee injury.

Zaniolo tore his ACL during the game against Juventus on January 12 and the surgery ruled him out for the rest of the season.

However, the COVID-19 pandemic and consequent lockdown of football for three months allowed him time to make a full recovery.

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Good news for Roma and Italy, as Nicolò Zaniolo has returned to training with the squad for the first time since his knee injury on January 12.

The creative midfielder will turn 21 on July 2 and can celebrate it with his Giallorossi teammates.

Zaniolo had been one of the hottest properties in European football before rupturing his anterior cruciate ligament during a match against Juventus on January 12.

He had another operation last month on his nose to help clear his airways so he can breathe better.

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Juventus captain Giorgio Chiellini is bemused by the fact Andriy Shevchenko and Michael Owen won the Ballon d’Or, but not Francesco Totti. ‘He was simply a genius.’

The Bianconeri defender’s autobiography covered numerous subjects throughout his career and the latest excerpt to hit the newspapers is about the biggest individual award in football.

“I have played with Francesco Totti, but we were almost always opponents,” wrote Chiellini.

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Women’s football in Italy is in mourning as Riozzese player Arianna Varone has died at the age of just 21.

Varone tragically lost her life in a road accident while she was riding her scooter last night.

“She will leave an unbridgeable void in the lives of those who loved her and were lucky enough to be around her. Goodbye, Arianna,” the FIGC wrote in her memory.

The 21-year-old was a midfielder who began her career with Inter and had a stint with arch-rivals Milan before signing for Riozzese in 2017.

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Jorginho’s agent insists his ‘price-tag has gone up’ since he joined Chelsea and ‘nobody can afford’ to purchase the Italy midfielder at the moment.

He made the move from Napoli in the summer of 2018 for circa €57m plus performance-related bonuses and is under contract until June 2023.

The Brazil-born Italy international has been linked with a return to Serie A for Maurizio Sarri’s Juventus.

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Sad news emerging from Italy this evening, as Serie A and Italy legend Pierino Prati has died at the age of 73.

The news was broken by his former Roma teammate and good friend, Bruno Conti.

It’s reported he had been ill for some time.

Prati had his greatest success at club level with Fiorentina, Milan and Roma.

The striker scored 100 goals in 232 Serie A games, taking the Capocannoniere title in 1967-68 with 15 goals.

He won the European Cup, Scudetto, Coppa Italia, Intercontinental Cup and two UEFA Cup titles with Milan.

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Italy coach Roberto Mancini confesses he is running out of patience with Mario Balotelli. ‘I hope one day he wakes up and realises he’s throwing his talent away.’

The striker has probably played his final game in a Brescia jersey, as the club is suing him and agent Mino Raiola for ‘slander’, while the player is taking legal action claiming the club excluded him from training.

“I care for him, regardless of all the things he does,” Mancini told RAI Sport.

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There were another 47 coronavirus deaths in Italy on Friday, but positive cases and ICU admissions are falling again.

Despite there being a slight uptick yesterday, the death toll in 24 hours has dropped by 20 and positive tests have dropped by 80.

There are also eight less people in intensive care, compared to Thursday’s increase of five.

Finally, five regions - Marche, Campania, Valle d’Aosta, Calabria and Basilicata - reported no new cases.

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UEFA Vice-President Michele Uva has admitted that it is ‘unrealistic’ to expect fans back through the turnstiles before August.

Most European leagues have resumed since the coronavirus lockdown in March, and the onus is now on stadia to be reopened to supporters, with games so far played behind closed doors.

However, Uva told Radio 24 this afternoon: “Having fans at stadia by August is unrealistic.

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