Tommaso Menoncello injury rules Italy centre out of Nations Championship

A shoulder injury has kept Tommaso Menoncello out of the Italy squad for next month's Tests, so the Azzurri will face South Africa, Argentina and Fiji without him.

The Italian Rugby Federation (FIR) named the squad without the centre on Wednesday 21 October, which rules him out of Italy's November matches in the Nations Championship. The 24-year-old lasted only six minutes of Toulouse's Champions Cup win over Exeter on Sunday 18 October before he went off injured.

Menoncello is not the only player missing. Scrum-half Martin Page-Relo, back-rower Sebastian Negri and Zebre full-back Lorenzo Pani are also out of the November games against South Africa, Argentina and Fiji.

Italy still have plenty of names in the backs, with Juan Ignacio Brex, Ange Capuozzo, Federico Mori, Monty Ioane and Louis Lynagh all in the squad.

Head coach Gonzalo Quesada, a former Argentina fly-half, was open about the effect of the absences in an FIR statement. "We know that major challenges await us this year, starting with the injuries to several players who are very important for our team," he said.

Quesada also saw an upside. With the Rugby World Cup a year away, he said the injuries were a chance to give some young players time on the field. He described the month ahead as a test of character: "And, above all, to test our character by facing, for four consecutive weeks, four of the best teams in the world."

The Nations Championship ends on the weekend of 27-29 November, when a round of matches will decide the final standings.