Rugby World Cup
Castrogiovanni 'all okay' after surgery to remove back tumour
ESPN Staff
October 21, 2015
Martin Castrogiovanni
Martin Castrogiovanni© Stu Forster/Getty Images

Italy's Martin Castrogiovanni has successfully undergone surgery to have the tumour that ended his Rugby World Cup campaign removed from his back.

The veteran prop, whose 115 appearances for the Azurri make him Italy's most capped player, took to Facebook shortly after his operation on Tuesday to post a photo of him smiling in his hospital bed.

Castrogiovanni, who turns 34 on Wednesday, missed Italy's third Rugby World Cup pool match against Ireland with a sciatic nerve problem and tests found a tumour pressing on his fifth vertebrae.

He pulled out of the remainder of his fourth World Cup, also missing the Azzurri's final match against Romania.

By then Italy had already missed out on the knockout stages once again, finishing behind Ireland and France in Pool D.

Castrogiovanni, who will return to Racing Metro after recovering from the operation, has been Italy's first-choice tighthead for over a decade.

© ESPN Staff

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