Italy coach Antonio Conte says Mario Balotelli would not have been called up to his latest squad for the upcoming qualifiers against Azerbaijan and Norway, even if he had been fit.
Balotelli, 25, missed AC Milan's 4-0 defeat at home to Napoli on Sunday night with a groin injury and Conte watched on from the stands, although the coach revealed that it would not have made any difference if the striker had played.
"Even if he hadn't been injured, I wouldn't have called him up," Conte said at a news conference.
"Two games and one free kick don't get you back into the national team. You need to follow a precise path, made up of continuity of performances and attitude.
"I need to have certainties and that applies to him as much as it applies to everybody else. Mario needs determination in regaining continuity."
Balotelli has not pulled on an Italy shirt since their ill-fated World Cup campaign last year. He has been included in only one of Conte's squad selections, but did not feature due to injury.
Conte said on Monday that he has more pressing things on his mind at present than Balotelli.
"We cannot underestimate these two matches, starting with Saturday's in Baku," he said. "There are lots of ways in which this game could become a trap for us.
"I don't want to wait for the Norway game to wrap up qualification, so I'm asking for my team to be careful and fully focused."
Italy travel to Azerbaijan aware that a win will see them seal their place at Euro 2016 in France next summer. Failure to pick up maximum points, however, will see them required to get a result against Norway in Rome next Tuesday.