FRANCE 98 – General Media News Template

Feverish Italy striker Fabrizio Ravanelli cancelled a scheduled news conference on Tuesday after being taken ill with a temperature of 38 and a cough. Ravanelli was a ‘no-show’ at the squad’s training base here and was being taken by a team doctor for checks, designed to counter any possible complications.

With Alessandro Del Piero already ruled out of Thursday’s World Cup opener against Chile, the last thing coach Cesare Maldini needs now is for the Olympique Marseille striker to go down with the ‘flu or a chest infection.

Roberto Baggio will lead Italy’s attack alongside Christian Vieri in Bordeaux, but Ravanelli was expected on the substitutes’ bench.