AC Milan boss Sergio Conceicao looks set to receive a triple boost for our Italian Super Cup final meeting with Inter on Monday.
The Rossoneri squad has been busy working on the training pitches with their new coach after he was appointed as Paulo Fonseca’s successor earlier this week, as they try to take on as much information as possible and adapt to his demands in a short space of time.
READ MORE: How Milan could line up vs Inter: One potential key change, important bench boost
As with any new coach arriving at a club, Conceicao would have hoped to have a full squad at his disposal to be able to work with as many players as possible, but that hasn’t been the case in Saudi Arabia thus far due to injury and illness.
However, as per MilanNews, there was a triple boost on Sunday as Rafael Leao was involved in part of the group training session, and the Milan talisman is expected to be named on the bench for the game and will potentially get minutes in the latter stages as he continues his comeback from injury.
That said, it’s an important balancing act that Milan can’t get wrong, as they will not want to risk aggravating the problem and see Leao ruled out for an extended period again, and so getting him ready for the meeting with Cagliari next weekend should arguably be their more realistic priority, depending on his condition and if he feels ready to go.
Meanwhile, it’s added that both Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Alex Jimenez also took part in the group session having recovered from illness, and so they should be available to feature on Monday night.
It wasn’t all positive on the team news front though, as the report goes on to add that Matteo Gabbia did not train on Sunday due to flu, and so while it remains to be seen if he can recover in time to at least make the bench, Fikayo Tomori and Malick Thiaw are expected to continue in the heart of the Milan defence against Inter.
Conceicao has made a positive impression thus far both on and off the pitch, but he will be desperate to land silverware to start his tenure, as that will only build confidence and belief within the group.