The Liverpool striker Mario Balotelli has left Italy’s training camp with a hamstring injury. The 24-year-old suffered the problem in training before Sunday’s European Championship qualifier with Croatia and has been unable to recover from it.

It was decided on Saturday that Balotelli would be released back to his club and Italy announced the news on their official Twitter feed. The Juventus defender Angelo Ogbonna has also gone home with a similar complaint.

Italy also play Albania in a friendly on Tuesday and the coach, Antonio Conte, has called up 14 extra players for the match. Those who face Croatia will not be involved, giving some fringe names the chance to impress.

The Sampdoria striker Stefano Okaka, the Cagliari defender Luca Rossettini and the Genoa midfielder Stefano Sturaro have all received their first call-ups.