AC Milan are enjoying a rare period of peace when it comes to not filling up the treatment room any further, and there are some obvious factors that play into this.
This morning’s edition of La Gazzetta dello Sport (seen below) recalls that Milan have only had one muscle injury in 2024 so far and that was Alessandro Florenzi. However, he only had discomfort and is already back.
The key question is obviously this: how did Milan manage to empty the infirmary? And there are two explanations that stand out above all in the eyes of the paper when it comes to reversing the trend.
For both you have to look at the calendar. The first: Milan stopped playing two games a week in mid-January and Pioli, like any coach, smiles if he only has to coach one game a week.
Without the commitments of Wednesday nights (or Tuesday, or Thursday), it is possible to increase the workload a little and use the days at the beginning of the week differently, let’s say from Monday to Wednesday.
Players rest more, can do more prevention activity and take fewer risks. It is no coincidence that Pioli has fielded the same starting line-up in each the last four games: it is because rotation is not necessary.
The second explanation lies in the difference between two such particular moments of the season. Milan have been completely off the charts in terms of the number of injuries but October and November are critical for many teams.
In those months the commitments intensify, the pitches get worse and players’ physiques are put to the test. This is how many muscle problems arise.
January is less complex to deal with: there are no international breaks, there are fewer games and the physical problems decrease.
The same men at Milan who looked after the work at Milanello in recent months but have not performed any revolutions, they have just benefitted from a quiet period and are now looking to the future with more optimism.
Meanwhile, their older colleagues at Inter rarely got injured at all during the same time period. Apologies, but I call BS
basically, they did nothing