Italiano chose not to select Immobile for the match against his former club and in front of his former Lazio fans.
He explained afterwards: "Yes, the wonderful emotions of this stadium. But perhaps there were just too many emotions to be able to step onto the pitch today.
"Even with just a few minutes, plus a stadium that welcomes you like this, I think it was beautiful just like this. The fantastic welcome from the Lazio fans with that stand, with its image, with all those banners.
"To make a guy who, in my opinion, gave his all here, who was truly a captain, feel the greatest emotions for a footballer... I get shivers because I'm sure that when he saw that stand, the emotion must have been immense for him.
"As for the match itself, I told you at the start, he'll have maybe fifteen minutes. I'm convinced that this wasn't the match to start getting Ciro going, which he already did on Thursday in those 15, 10 minutes, however many it was. There's time to really get him back on track and get him to perform at his best."