Giovanni Licata called up to Italy squad with uncapped Francois Mey out injured
Italy have called up number eight Giovanni Licata (27) to their squad on Monday, ahead of the Six Nations game with France, with Francois Mey (20) out through injury.
Licata, who turned 27 on Sunday, is captain of Zebre Parma, and made a return from injury to start in their defeat by Edinburgh on Friday. He has 13 caps with Italy but has not featured for the national side since November 2021.
Full-back Mey, who also plays centre, was part of Italy coach Gonzalo Quesada's training squad before the start of the Six Nations and the uncapped Mey was brought back into the squad for the France game but is now ruled out through injury.
Italy, who lost their opening games with England and Ireland, are already without the injured Sebastian Negri, Lorenzo Cannone, Edoardo Iachizzi and Pietro Ceccarelli, while Tommaso Allan is taking a break from international rugby.
Italy are away to France on Sunday.