Vieri out of World Cup

Italy and Monaco striker Christian Vieri will miss the World Cup finals after it was confirmed he requires surgery on a knee injury.

The 32-year-old has not played since damaging his left knee during the Ligue 1 match against Paris St Germain at the end of March.

A statement from Monaco on Monday confirmed Vieri must now go under the knife, ruling him out of Marcello Lippi’s squad for Germany next month.

“Considering the nature of the injury, Christian Vieri will now undergo surgery in the next few days,” the statement said.

Vieri, who joined Monaco from AC Milan in January, played in both the 1998 and 2002 World Cup finals, scoring five and four goals respectively.

He was also a member of the Italy squad which failed to get past the group stages at Euro 2004 in Portugal.