Injuries hindering Lippi’s preparations…

Italy coach Marcello Lippi has rejected claims that his 23-man squad is cluttered with ageing veterans that will struggle as the World Cup progresses.
“We are not the oldest, there are a couple of teams older than us,” Lippi told a press conference today.
“We have a mix, nine players from 2006 is less than 50 per cent. I haven't seen a team at a World Cup that four years later turn up with 23 new players. We have the right mix with young players and those with quality.”
The coach went on to say that injury problems, with Andrea Pirlo and Mauro Camoranesi having been unavailable to compete in warm-up games had hindered his preparations thus far.
"I have clear ideas but I've not been able to translate it onto the field because there have been problems and injuries,” he said.
“But from tomorrow, except for Pirlo, I can do what I have in my head. I want a defence a bit more compact which means we can have players further forward who don't need to defend.”