Ismael Bennacer is getting closer to making his return to the field, and he should lend an important hand to a department that is stretched.
La Gazzetta dello Sport begin a report on the Algerian by recalling the words of Zlatan Ibrahimovic in the build-up to the game against Slovan Bratislava on Tuesday night, as he stated: “Bennacer will be back in a week.”
The ‘week’ timescale needs to be contextualised: Ibrahimovic didn’t mean that Bennacer could be called up for the game away against Atalanta on December 6. However, the announcement is still fundamental because it means he will return to Milanello and begin regaining fitness.
In short, a couple of weeks and he should be in contention again. Bennacer had suffered a tear in his right calf during a training session with the national team, which was followed by surgery on September 16, with the initial prognosis being a return in 2025.
However, with hard work and a personalised recovery programme, it seems the former Empoli man has shaved some time off that. Seeing Bennacer on the field by the end of December is absolutely plausible, with all the necessary precautions of course.
In the summer Bennacer seems to be one step away from the Saudi League and then, when he stayed, he was considered a sort of ‘new signing’. Now history repeats itself, given he has been out of the plans and will now re-enter at a time of need.
It is undeniable that Ismael’s return is vital for Fonseca’s midfield. Numerically speaking, it is not in such a bad state, but the likes of Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Yunus Musah are more athletic than technical, and cannot fill the double pivot slots with ease.
This is the reason why Youssouf Fofana and Tijjani Reijnders have been asked to perform overtime for a long time now. The minutes played says it all: 1,305 for Fofana, 1,274 for Reijnders (followed by Pulisic with 1,264).
Considering that the Rossoneri have been on the pitch for a total of 1,530 minutes, the degree of ‘squeezing’ of the two midfielders is very clear. For example, in the Champions League, Reijnders has not missed a single minute and Fofana has only had a rest for half an hour.
Luckily for Fonseca, Bennacer has the characteristics to be able to replace both of them because he can sit in front of the defence and break up play but is also good at advancing the ball with his press resistance and passing.
If necessary, he can also become an additional attacking midfielder as we saw in the run to the Champions League semi-finals under Stefano Pioli in 2022-23. Fofana and Reijnders are waiting, hoping to catch a breath.
Back, sure..but in what shape? He needed months last season to get into proper game shape.
Bro, u sound negative..juts be happy he is back sooner .. beside when he was returned last year it didn’t take long for him to play well .. to be honest he is better than Fofana
Fundamental? LOL. Just a fringe player if even that. Bet he’ll be broken again after two weeks on the training ground.
why do I always find a bunch of loosers whining in comments section every post I open on this site. Can’t you idiots be positive once in a while?
Found the uptight twat who thinks their shît doesn’t smell..
If we’re losers for whining about Milan on here what makes you who whines about the people whining?
“If we’re losers for whining about Milan on here what makes you who whines about the people whining?”
The worst whiner of them all?
I love benercer too much he is the midfield were missing he can play as DM,Cm, and even Am he is the king of midfield in Acmilan he is far better than Reijnder and Fofana. Please benercer should come and play the attacking midfielder we all missed him.
Match fitness physically is one thing and playing form is another. Not sure either of them will be good until February with continuous playing time.
And he needs to be injury free during those months.
I do like Bennacer (the 19-22 edition that is), but let’s be honest. First in his only season without injury (2021/22), he was mostly a rotational player having way less minutes than Tonali and Kessie, slightly less minutes than Diaz and slightly more minutes than Krunic. His playing style and his body type don’t allow for too many consecutives games as a starter.
Second, whatever player we saw in 2020 is no longer here. In the few minutes he played in the beggining of the season, we saw that he was out of shape and had a poor workrate and that was way after his previous injury. Now he is injured again, so he is gonna be even more out of shape and will most likely get injured again.
The best thing to do with Bennacer is try to sell him ASAP while focusing on getting Ricci or Frendup this winter.
Reijnders—————–Fofana/Musah
Ricci
This might look good on the long run.
I agree that Bennacer we saw in 2020 isn’t here anymore. That doesn’t mean that he couldn’t be useful as a sub because he still has a good vision of the game. He could give a breather for Reijnders when we are protecting a lead and an alternative for Fofana when we need to score.
I think it’s a problem going forward if Fonseca refuses to play three in the middle. Bennacer would be perfect addition to that triangle. He and Fofana know how to defend and both are quite good with ball.
Great news! He will be very important in balancing the team. 433 Fofana – Bennacer- Reijnders looks good.
Ismail Bennacer was a giant for us when healthy and went down while in service of the Red and Black. People writing him off despite the seriousness of the injuries he suffered is a classic example of how toxic this forum can get. If nothing else he has earned the right to be given a chance to show if he’s fully back to the levels we knew he was capable of. Proposing to toss aside one of the best midfielders we have had in a decade plus is absurd!
They spent 90 millions on a non functional midfield but Bennacer is still fundamental.
Just gtfo you clowns.