Coverciano, May 30 (SW) - After what was initially thought to be just a minor injury sustained in training on Sunday, Italy defender Gianluca Zambrotta now looks unlikely to be fit for Italy's World Cup opener against Ghana.

Zambrotta stretched a thigh muscle during a friendly played in Florence on Sunday against local amateur team San Giminiano, and now looks likely to be out for at least 2 weeks, missing both of Italy?s pre-World Cup warm up matches and possibly the opener on 12 June.

"I hope it's nothing serious, I stretched a little too far and I felt the muscle pull," said Zambrotta.

"It's definitely a muscle problem."

The 29-year-old Juventus defender has been a regular fixture in the Italian side since his debut in 1999, probably due to his flexibility and adaptability on the pitch. He can play either side in defence and in the past has played as wing back and winger for both club and country.

But now Zambrotta will remain at Italy's headquarters in Coverciano this week while his team-mates take on Switzerland on Wednesday and Ukraine on Friday as part of their pre-tournament preparation.

"The player will remain at Coverciano and will not travel to Switzerland for the friendly," said Italian national team doctor Enrico Castellacci. Zambrotta added,

"I'll stay here and take care of myself with ice. I want to participate in the World Cup and take care of myself in the best way possible. It doesn't make sense right now for me to go anywhere."