Like an abusive relationship that Milan can never escape, the injury crisis is back in full force at Milan. Not content with the long-term injuries that were quietly adding up, a couple of players over-extended themselves versus Napoli, compensating for the lack of Leão. Then the players went on international duty. Sixteen players, to be exact, and one by one, after only two days of international competition, Pioli has a full-blown injury crisis on his hands. Of course the injuries have to happen now, when the competition is tougher than ever and we actually have a decent chance in the Champions League. But when players are injured, everybody hurts.
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| Leaving a huge hole in our starting 11 |
Other players have come in and out of injury, but a player we have been missing, who started off his season with a bang and then was brought to a screeching halt is Rebić. He has been having back problems, with rumors of a possible herniated disk, which is no laughing matter. However, he has been improving of late and is hopeful to be recovered for our next match vs. Empoli.
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| Ready for Rebić to bring that smile back onto the pitch |
One player we have seen very little of since his transfer to Milan is Origi. He came to Milan with some type of injury, spent the summer and entire preseason recovering and training alone. Then he finally made a few appearances and was suddenly injured again. I have read explanations about his injury as some sort of a hardening of the tendons that he is prone to, and prior to the break, Milan and the Belgium national team agreed that he should return to Belgium for treatment early. Rumors are that we might also have him back for Empoli, but let's not put money on that one.
Poor Florenzi has had some terrible luck with injuries, having had surgery early on last year, he actually tore a muscle in his thigh in the Sassuolo match at the end of August and had to have surgery yet again this year. His recovery will see him miss five months of playing time, meaning he won't be back on the pitch again until at least February of 2023.
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| Pioli hoping to get Theo Hernández back into action again as soon as possible |
With Leão given two harsh yellows against Sampdoria and thus suspended for the Napoli match, Theo Hernández had to run twice as hard and twice as much in that bitter loss on Sunday. That extra effort cost Milan dearly, as Theo now has an adductor injury as a result. Unfortunately, that also led to Theo's loss, as he had to return immediately from his callup for France. Reports are that he will definitely miss Empoli, with missing at least Chelsea and Juventus possibilities as well.
That same match, Calabria also had a minor muscle injury. This did not affect his national team callup, because Mancini does not have an IQ high enough to give the Milan captain one. It seems, however, that Calabria will definitely recover in time for Empoli, and could be back in training as early as Tuesday.
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| His injury does not seem to be serious, thankfully |
Of course, Tonali, who was called up for Italy, also has a minor injury and was unable to train with the team on Thursday, but stayed with the team as a spectator for the England match. However, he has now returned to Milanello and is also rumored to be able to make a full recovery ahead of our Empoli match on October 1st.
Then the hammer dropped. Maignan, who played only 45 minutes for France on Thursday, was subbed off at halftime due to a pain in his calf. Early reports are that he has a lesion on one of his calf muscles, which could rule him out for up to a month. At least one week of that month will be this week, during the international break, and he will not be able to suffer re-injury.
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| People forget that Mirante already won us a trophy - the illustrious Telekom Cup |
But there is talk of replacing him on the Champions League list with Tatarusanu, which is absolutely insane. UEFA rules require that exchange to last at least 30 days, and our last 2 fixtures begin literally 30 days from tomorrow. First of all, Mirante is there because not only is he Italian, Pioli trusted him with that spot. People are falsely saying he is our only backup, but we also have Jungdal, who is on List B, and could actually add any youth keeper who has been at the club for two years if we wanted. We all know that Maignan is a fighter, and will be back as soon as possible, and none of us want to watch Maignan in the stands as Tatarusanu seals our fate crashing out of the Group Stage for the second year running.
As if that wasn't enough, reports also came in from Denmark that Kjaer sustained a minor ankle injury. The Danish national team have chosen to keep him with the team for now, which may be a good sign, but his injury makes nine players currently injured for Milan at this moment, with many more international games left to be played.
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| Hopefully his injury is not serious, either |
Our game versus Empoli is in exactly one week, on Saturday, October the 1st. Followed by our away match to Chelsea the following Wednesday, the 5th, and of course, hosting Juventus two weeks from today on October the 8th. Before injuries, these games seemed reasonable enough. Now, they are absolutely terrifying. And who knows how many more injuries our players will sustain between now and then? Having suffered our first league loss on Sunday since losing to Serra in January, Milan hearts everywhere are just bleeding. Because with nine injured players, everybody hurts.
This post inspired by the music of R.E.M.'s "Everybody Hurts"
Our next match is
Reviewed by Elaine
on
8:02 AM
Rating:
