Nesta set to miss-semi final

Italy defender Alessandro Nesta looks certain to miss tomorrow’s World Cup semi-final against Germany because of a thigh injury.

The AC Milan centre-back could only manage 30 minutes of Italy’s hour-long training session this evening before stopping and leaving the pitch.

Nesta has been struggling with the thigh problem since the start of the tournament and has missed both of Italy’s knock-out matches against Australia and Ukraine.

Should Nesta miss out then Marco Materazzi, who is available again after suspension, is likely to come back and partner captain Fabio Cannavaro in defence.

Italy midfielder Mauro Camoranesi also looks unlikely to start against Germany even though he took part in training at Dortmund’s stadium on Monday.

Camoranesi was unable to train for the past two days after sustaining a thigh injury in the win over Ukraine.