Italy's team for the impending IIHF World Championship has been depleted by COVID-19 positives and injury ©Getty Images

Italy has sent a team heavily depleted by COVID-19 positive tests and injuries to the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) World Championship that are due to start in the Latvian capital of Riga on Friday (May 21).

But all those who left for Latvia had been recently vaccinated against COVID-19, becoming one of the first sports teams in Italy to receive immunisation.

Many of the team’s key players, and also its head coach Greg Ireland, are currently isolating after 15 COVID-19 positives showed up within the group, although none are believed to be seriously affected.

Goalkeeper Andreas Barnard and forwards Tommaso Traversa, Michele Marchetti and Matthia are definitely out of the Championships, which are scheduled to finish on June 6.

Other players who have tested positive for COVID-19 but may yet be able to join the roster during the tournament include goalkeeper Jake Smith, defenders Thomas Larkin, Enrico Miglioranzi and Alex Trivellato and forward Markus Gander.

Ireland will be acting in a remote capacity at the start of the tournament.

One of the Canadian's assistants, Riku-Petteri Lehtonen, has also tested positive for the coronavirus.

Several players have had to miss the World Championship due to injury including Diego Kostner, Giovanni Morini, Marco Insam, Joachim Ramoser, Domenic Alberga, Ivan Tauferer and Luca Zanatta

Italy has sent a young and depleted team to the IIHF World Championship in Riga after recording 15 COVID-19 positives in the pre-tournament period ©Getty Images
Italy has sent a young and depleted team to the IIHF World Championship in Riga after recording 15 COVID-19 positives in the pre-tournament period ©Getty Images

"We are undoubtedly in a complicated situation and many might think that it would have been easier to raise the white flag," said Andrea Gios, President of the Italian Ice Hockey Federation,

"However, we want to fully honour what we earned on the ice in 2019 in Bratislava.

"We owe it to our sport, we owe it to the blue jersey, we owe it to the IIHF that organised these World Championships despite the pandemic.

"The absences force us to anticipate by a few years the inclusion of a series of young people on whom we are aiming for the 2026 Olympics.

"This is a great opportunity for them, and we expect everyone to give their best against objectively better equipped teams.

"The Federation has confidence in the boys, the coaches and the staff and I hope that, even from a distance, the Italian fans will show their affection for this group."

There is no relegation taking place this year as only the top flight of the World Championship is taking place in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.