AC Milan face Inter in the final of the Italian Super Cup on Monday, and Sergio Conceicao is hoping for good news on the fitness front.
The Rossoneri secured a 2-1 win over Juventus to advance to the showpiece event in Saudi Arabia, with Conceicao enjoying a winning start to his tenure after our second-half comeback.
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With a few more days to work with his squad, he’ll hope to get more of his ideas and principles across more succinctly, but it would certainly help if he had a full squad at his disposal to ensure everyone is adapting and taking on board his instructions.
Milan were given a major boost last time out with Christian Pulisic returning from injury, and according to MilanNews, Ruben Loftus-Cheek is expected to recover from illness to be at Conceicao’s disposal on Monday after resuming group training this weekend.
While that’s the good news, it doesn’t sound as though Rafael Leao will recover from injury in time to feature as a starter, as per Sky Sport, but it remains to be seen if he can make the bench as he continues to work separately away from the rest of the group.
It would undoubtedly be a crucial boost to have the Portuguese winger available again given how influential he is in the side, but ultimately there’s no point in taking the risk of aggravating his issue and potentially seeing him sidelined for longer.
In turn, he remains doubtful for the time being, but his progress and condition will likely be monitored closely over the next 24 hours to determine whether or not he’s ready to play a part in the final as we bid to land silverware before returning to domestic matters.
Milan host Cagliari on January 11 in a Serie A clash, and so it’s hoped that if Leao isn’t ready in time to face Inter, he’ll be in contention to feature next weekend.