European champions Nadia Battocletti and Yemaneberhan Crippa are both late withdrawals from the Italian team for the European 10,000m Cup in La Spezia, Italy on 23 May.
Crippa, who was targeting his third victory at the European 10,000m Cup, has cited muscle fatigue while Battocletti is suffering from the after-effects of a bout of flu which she picked up shortly after making her season's debut in Florence where she won the 1500m in 4:03.59.
"It is with great regret that I announce that I will not be able to be in La Spezia wearing the Italian national team vest. After a long time spent preparing on the roads, I returned to training with spikes in preparation for the race, and in the last session I suffered muscle fatigue," said Crippa who won the Paris Marathon last month in 2:05:18.
He added: "My coaches and I have chosen to take a precautionary break, also to ensure I can meet my commitments this season. I thank the Italian Athletics Federation (FIDAL) for their trust in me and will be cheering on my teammates from home.”
Battocletti, who was due to make her European 10,000m Cup debut on Saturday, said: “I will not be able to participate in the European 10,000m Cup. I had a bad flu after the meeting in Florence, with a bad sore throat, and now I'm still congested. I trained this morning but I wasn't able to finish it well, so with great regret I have to withdraw.
"I'm very disappointed because an international event in Italy, wearing the national team jersey, is always very important."
