Sami Khedira says it hurts to see Juventus teammate Gianluigi Buffon miss out on one last World Cup with Italy.
Gianluigi Buffon is still recovering from Italy's failure to qualify for the World Cup and won't play for Juventus at Sampdoria on Sunday.
Juventus coach Massimiliano Allegri announced on Saturday that defender Andrea Barzagli also won't play for the same reason.
Both Buffon and Barzagli announced after Italy's playoff loss to Sweden on Monday that they were retiring from the national team.
Allegri said: "They're getting over the disappointment but after 15 days with the national team they spent a notable amount of physical and -- above all -- mental energy.
"It would have been Buffon's sixth World Cup and it was a big disappointment. But I found him in form. He had a good reaction."
He confirmed Buffon would return for the Champions League game against Barcelona next week.
Allegri was also asked about the potential for him to replace Gian Piero Ventura as Italy manager.
He said: "The national team is a future ambition, but right now I'm only focused on Juventus because we have plenty to do together. I'd talk about the opportunity in a few years."
Comments
Use a Facebook account to add a comment, subject to Facebook's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. Your Facebook name, photo & other personal information you make public on Facebook will appear with your comment, and may be used on ESPN's media platforms. Learn more.
Source: espn.co.uk