AC Milan defender Pierre Kalulu is set to be sidelined for at least a week with the calf injury he suffered while on international duty.
The 22-year-old returned early from the France U21 camp after picking up the issue last week, and underwent further tests on Monday to determine the extent of the problem.
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As per Antonio Vitiello, it has now been suggested that Kalulu sustained a right calf muscle strain, and he will now undergo follow-up tests in a week’s time.
That ultimately rules him out against Napoli on Sunday, while it remains to be seen if treatment works quickly enough for him to be back at Stefano Pioli’s disposal by April 7 when we host Empoli.
That’s swiftly followed by our Champions League quarter-final tie with the Partenopei, and so it’s a frustrating setback at a bad time given the importance of our upcoming fixtures coming out of the international break.
Kalulu has made 37 appearances across all competitions so far this season, and although we’ve not been at our best defensively for months, he remains an important option for Pioli in the Milan backline.
His physicality, pace and athleticism will be missed in his absence, particularly against a dangerous Napoli side who are well on their way to winning the Serie A title, and will be a stern test in Europe too.
Pioli will likely look to Davide Calabria to start at right-back this weekend, with Malick Thiaw and Fikayo Tomori forming the centre-half partnership with the Rossoneri tipped to return to a 4-2-3-1 system in Naples.
After a negative run of results prior to the break, Milan can’t afford to continue in that rut if we wish to salvage something from this campaign and end it on a successful note.
Pioli’s task gets more difficult with injury setbacks like this one to key players, but we have individuals who are capable of stepping up, and they must now do a job as we look to once again try to rediscover our defensive solidity moving forward.