AC Milan boss Stefano Pioli has suffered a double injury blow ahead of our return to action on Wednesday against Salernitana.
The Rossoneri have been busy ticking over during the World Cup break and played our last friendly against PSV last week before we resume Serie A action away at Salernitana in midweek.
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Unfortunately, although it was an opportunity to allow the players to maintain their fitness, it also saw us lose two players to injuries with Ante Rebic and Fode Ballo-Toure suffering setbacks.
According to MilanNews, Rebic sustained an adductor muscle injury in his left thigh which will now rule him out of the Salernitana clash, as it’s suggested that he will now be reevaluated in seven days.
With Zlatan Ibrahimovic still sidelined and Olivier Giroud coming back from an extended break after reaching the World Cup final, it’s not ideal to lose another option to play up top in Rebic, and so it remains to be seen who gets the nod instead.
The expectation is that Charles De Ketelaere could be deployed up front, with Rafael Leao, Brahim Diaz and Alexis Saelemaekers supporting him, with Giroud an obvious option on the bench to come on if needed.
Meanwhile, the report goes on to add that Ballo-Toure’s injury is worse as he will undergo shoulder surgery on Monday and so he can expect to be ruled out for a significant period of time.
Albeit not a key starter, his absence will still be a blow given his ability to offer depth and cover at left-back for Theo Hernandez. It’s hoped that we don’t become stretched in that position in the coming weeks and struggle there too, with absences elsewhere already giving Pioli some selection headaches.
The hope coming into the restart was that we’d have as close to a fully fit squad as possible as we attempt to chase down Napoli. However, with Mike Maignan, Alessandro Florenzi, Divock Origi, Rade Krunic and Messias Junior all potentially missing too this week, it’s surely a source of real frustration for Pioli ahead of our first game back.