Martin Castrogiovanni bitten by a dog: Italy prop an injury doubt for Scotland clash after friend's dog bites him on the nose

Castrogiovanni needed 14 stitches in a wound suffered when a friend's dog bit him on the nose

Castrogiovanni required 14 stitches in a wound on his nose (Getty Images)

Martin Castrogiovanni is an injury doubt for Italy’s Six Nations clash with Scotland this Saturday after he was bit on the nose by a friend’s dog.

The 33-year-old required 14 stitches in his nose in what the Italian camp have described as a “minor household accident” on Saturday, and the Toulon prop was left out of the provisional squad for the round three encounter at Murrayfield.

The match has already been billed as a Wooden Spoon decider with both teams losing their opening two fixtures in the tournament, but any hope that Italy have of winning on the road would suffer a serious blow if Castrogiovanni doesn’t recover in time for the game.

Wasps prop Lorenzo Cittadini has been drafted into the squad as cover, with Castrogiovanni given until midweek to prove his fitness before a decision is made on his selection.

Italy prop Martin Castrogiovanni (Getty Images)

In other team news, Italian second-row Marco Bortalami is struggling to be fit for the match with Antonio Pavanello called up as cover, while Wasps utility back Andrea Masi has suffered a cut to his calf during Friday night’s win over Newcastle and has already been ruled out of the Murrayfield clash, with uncapped centre Enrico Bacchin called up in his place.