Buffon, the Juventus stopper, suffered a herniated disc and is out indefinitely after being substituted during his team’s 1-1 draw with Paraguay in their World Cup Group F opener.

He will miss Sunday’s match against New Zealand in Nelspruit and almost certainly their final group game against Slovakia on June 24 in Johannesburg.

“Gigi has charisma,” said Chiellini.

“He gives strength to others. His saves’ worth are like goals from strikers.

“I know what it means for him to play at the World Cup.

“We miss Gianluigi as a man and we hope he will recover as soon as possible.”

However, the Juventus defender believes Cagliari goalkeeper Federico Marchetti will be a good replacement.

“Federico has matured,” said Chiellini.

“He proved against Paraguay that he is a good goalkeeper and he is calm and ready to help the team.”

Chiellini believes the team will improve as the tournament goes on (8/15 Italy – Group F winner).

“Italy can do well,” he said. “We want to score more goals and we will continue to grow as a team.

“Perhaps the draw between New Zealand and Slovakia is a point in our favour but we will have to show a lot of strength to beat New Zealand and finish first of our group in order to avoid facing Holland in the next round.”

Chiellini expects a tough match against New Zealand, a side Italy faced last year in a friendly in Pretoria which ended 4-3 in favour of the reigning world champions.

“New Zealand are a very physical side, mentally strong and dangerous in dead-ball situations,” Chiellini said.

“They take few risks and I remember last year they scored two goals against us because of dead-ball situations.

“We need to bring more flair in attack and take more shots.

“I don’t want to think about a draw.”

Italy will also be without playmaker Andrea Pirlo for the clash against New Zealand but are hopeful the AC Milan man will return in time for the match against Slovakia.

Meanwhile, Marchetti says he is worried about the official Jabulani ball ahead of his first ever World Cup start.

The 27-year-old Cagliari goalkeeper said: “We know the ball does unexpected things and the goalkeepers, like defenders and strikers have to expect a change of trajectory or a strange bounce.

“The pitches are heavily watered so the ball skips off the surface really quickly and hence that makes things much harder.”

Marchetti also agreed with England coach and compatriot Fabio Capello that this is the worst ball he’s ever played with.

He added: “It’s a difficult ball, I think it’s the worst. Gigi (Buffon) and Morgan (De Sanctis) who have played in previous World Cups and have the experience of other balls say it’s the worst of all time.

“The thing that makes you understand just how bad it is, is that all players are complaining about it.

“The flight changes unexpectedly. High balls, low balls, the flight is not that of a normal ball.

“It’s difficult to read and goes faster than normal balls.”

Bet on the World Cup and get £200. Click here to visit Bet365 and claim your free money.

England

Ferdinand, who has been replaced by Steven Gerrard as England skipper, is to return to England after the team’s opening Group C encounter with USA on Saturday (4/9 England 16/5 draw 13/2 USA – match betting).

The incident which ended his World Cup dreams happened at England’s Bafokeng Sports Centre base, during a challenge with striker Emile Heskey.

“It was a complete freak, an accident,” said Ferdinand.

“The ball came in from one of the lads to Emile, I’d gone to try and tackle him from behind – he didn’t actually see me coming – we both went off balance and Emile’s weight went down on my knee.

“It’s no fault of his at all. It’s just a freak accident that could happen at any given time and it had no connection to any previous injuries I’ve had.”

The central defender said he knew even before the scan that he would be forced to miss the tournament.

“I knew I wasn’t going to be able to play in the World Cup even before I got the scan (result) – I was just waiting to get it confirmed,” he told BBC Radio Five Live.

“It’s disappointing, but I’ve come to terms with it now.

“The first night was quite a pretty long night, going over what could’ve been and to not be able to represent your country in the World Cup.

“I was going over scenarios in my head of what could’ve been.

“Leading out your country into a major tournament is the stuff of dreams and it’s taken from under your feet.

“It was a long evening thinking about stuff like that.

“But after that I’ve thought to myself I’ve got to get on with it. There’s a lot more people worse off than I am.

“I’m not dying and it’s not like I’ll never be able to play football again.

“Hopefully I’ll be able to come back, do some good rehab and I’ll be fit and that’s what I’m concentrating on now.”

Bet on the World Cup and get £200. Click here to visit Bet365 and claim your free money.

The Galatasaray forward is reported to have re-injured his groin just days before coach Pim Veerbeek is expected to name his provisional squad on May 11.

The talismanic midfielder-cum-striker has only just returned to action after being out for four months with the problem. However, just two days into his return, he aggreavated the injury and is now expected to miss Galatasaray’s final two games of the season.

Galatasaray assistant coach Johan Neeskens admits that the situation is difficult and hard to predict. He admitted that he doesn’t know whether Kewell will make the World Cup and that the final decision will be up to the player and the doctors within the Australian camp.

Neeskens said: “Stage by stage he got better but then he fell back again. He chose to stop training and take treatment. But sometimes after three or four days, if he stops treatment and starts training again, it comes back again.

“He started again with the team a week ago but now in the second week he got some pain and didn’t feel comfortable. On Tuesday, he stopped again and couldn’t continue the work because it’s too painful.”

Neeskens accepts that his absence will be a major loss for Australia, who are hoping to improve on their achievements in the 2006 World Cup.

In Germany, they finished second in their group and were unfortunate to be knocked out by Italy in the last-16 through a last-minute penalty.

Veerbeek  has already set a target of going one better in South Africa and at least reaching the last eight. However, they have been handed a very difficult group which features Germany, Serbia and Ghana. This has forced totesport to make Australia 15/2 to qualify from their group and these odds could lengthen if Kewell’s absence is confirmed.

Only last week, Kewell said that he was ready to lead from the front for the Socceroos after spending most of his career on the left flank.

He said that if Veerbeek had this in mind, he would be comfortable in this position as he played up front for both Liverpool and Leeds United. He said that he relished the added responsibility of playing in the role and that he has the confidence to take it on. He said that before the injury he was fit and scoring goals, and was clearly relishing going to South Africa.

It was also reported in The Daily Telegraph that he was glad to return from his groin injury and that he wanted to improve his fitness going into the World Cup. He said that he was sure he could do this as he was “working hard day and night to get to where I need to be and I’ll be fine for the World Cup”.

Unforuntately for Kewell, his latest setback could significantly dent his match fitness, even if it doesn’t rule him out of the World Cup entirely. His absence will undoubtedly be a bitter blow for Kewell and Australia. The Socceroos are currently 125/1 to  win the World Cup but Kewell’s absence could make these chances even more remote.

ToteSport bookmaker will give you £60 in Free Bets. Click here to check them out.