Materazzi Could Miss France Clash

Marco Materazzi's knock, sustained against Hungary, could see him miss the vital Euro 2008 qualifying mtch against France on September 8...

Marco Materazzi has two weeks to recover, or risk missing the Euro 2008 grudge match with France.

The French beat the World Champions 3-1 in the earlier fixture in Paris, with Italy desperate for revenge - and to gain the advantage at the top of the qualfiying group.

But the "Matrix" faces a race against time to join the squad for the clash - not to mention Inter's Serie A opener this weekend.

The veteran stopper suffered thigh bruising and general trauma, sustained after a Hungarian player landed on top of him.

Such was the damage from the latter incident that a shaking Materazzi vomited after the game, but opted to wait until returning to Italy before going to the hospital.

Team doctor Andrea Ferretti said, "Materazzi received a serious blow when an oposition player fell on top of him."

"It was a serious trauma and we will have to see how it develops in the next few hours. The recovery won’t be a matter of days and there is a real doubt that he will be back to play against France."

A dreadful Italy performance saw them capitulate to a 3-1 defeat in Hungary on Wednesday night. They face the French in 15 days time in Milan.