La Dea have been dealt an injury blow ahead of the new campaign with a star forward suffering a serious knee injury in pre-season.
Atalanta striker Gianluca Scamacca has suffered a significant setback after rupturing the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in his left knee.
Atalanta’s Scamacca setback
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The injury occurred during a friendly match against Parma on Sunday, forcing the Italian forward to be substituted in the 50th minute.
The 25-year-old, who joined Atalanta from West Ham United last summer and enjoyed an impressive debut season in Serie A, scoring 19 goals and providing eight assists, will undergo surgery on Monday and is expected to miss an extended period of action.
Scamacca was pivotal for La Dea in their Europa League run, scoring in every knockout round against Sporting, Liverpool and Marseille before setting up one of Ademola Lookman's three goals in the final success over Bayer Leverkusen.
The injury to Scamacca is a major blow for Atalanta, who have qualified for the Champions League and will face Real Madrid in the UEFA Super Cup on August 14. The Italian club will have to cope without one of their key attacking players for the foreseeable future.
Gian Piero Gasperini's side will hope to have the Italian back in action before the end of the 2024-25 season, as the recovery process from an ACL injury is typically lengthy.
What comes next?
Atalanta face German side St. Pauli on August 9, five days before their UEFA Super Cup match with Real Madrid.
La Dea’s Serie A campaign begins at Lecce on August 19.