AC Milan boss Stefano Pioli spoke to the media on Sunday ahead of our crunch clash with Lazio at the Stadio Olimpico on Monday night.
After our loss to Sassuolo last time out, the pressure is building as we look to hold on to a top-four finish in Serie A this season to secure a Champions League qualification spot.
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With the chasing pack cutting the gap, the Rossoneri can’t afford to drop more points in the final six games of the campaign, and there’s a tough run-in to come with Lazio, Juventus and Atalanta still on the schedule.
For now, the focus is on the trip to face the Biancocelesti, and Pioli delivered the latest injury news as he had a number of concerns leading up to the game and there isn’t positive news on Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s condition.
“Ibrahimovic is better but he won’t be there tomorrow, he should be there against Benevento,” Pioli said, as quoted by MilanNews. “Mandzukic and Leao will compete for the starting place tomorrow. Mario is better and has the characteristics to give the right contribution in the opposing area.
“Theo is better, he did a part of the group training with the team yesterday. He could be available if he does a whole session today.
“He [Romagnoli] is better, he’s working with the team which has allowed him to improve his condition. Tomori had a small problem yesterday, let’s see.”
While Ibrahimovic is ruled out, it’s hoped that both Hernandez and Tomori can recover in time to start the game, while the expectation is that Ismael Bennacer will return from an ankle knock too.
With Lazio being one of the sides chasing us down, this is a hugely important contest, one that Milan simply can’t afford to lose as the battle for the top four continues to go down to the wire. While Ibrahimovic may not feature this week, it will be crucial that he is back healthy, fully fit and ready to lead us in the remaining games.
