AC Milan goalkeeper Mike Maignan is reportedly continuing to struggle with his calf injury, which is forcing the club to be cautious with his recovery.
The 27-year-old has been limited to just nine appearances in all competitions for the Rossoneri so far this season, which in turn has been a real blow for us given how important he was in our success and progression last year.
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Maignan’s last Serie A appearance came in September, and so he has since missed our last eight league outings while also being forced to miss out on the France squad for the World Cup.
The ideal scenario was that the break would give him an extended window to recover and return, but it doesn’t sound as though he’s where the club had hoped he would be at this stage.
As per MilanNews, via Sky Sport Italia, Maignan’s recovery continues to be a slow process and although he hasn’t suffered a setback as such, his calf ultimately isn’t healing in the way and at the pace that the club thought it would, and so he remains a doubt as we move closer to the resumption of the campaign.
The French shot-stopper will undergo more tests when the squad returns from the UAE, and so the next 10 days should tell us a lot more about the situation moving forward.
It’s added in the report that if Maignan continues to miss time or suffers a setback when we return to action, Milan could enter negotiations with Atalanta about bringing forward the signing of Marco Sportiello, who is currently set to join us in the summer.
Ultimately, the ideal outcome would be that Maignan passes the tests that the medical staff will put him through in the coming weeks and he is able to return to the Milan starting XI against Salernitana on January 4.
Whether it’s his goalkeeping qualities or his distribution out from the back or the general calmness and composure that he brings to the backline, we’ve sorely missed his presence between the posts and it has been a factor in why we haven’t been as watertight at the back this season.
Nevertheless, if the recovery doesn’t go to plan, it would make sense for Milan to consider a Plan B and ensure we have enough quality and cover in that department to compete, as we simply can’t afford any more slip-ups in Serie A next year.