AC Milan boss Stefano Pioli has several selection dilemmas ahead of Thursday’s trip to face Shamrock Rovers, according to a report.
As Sunday’s edition of il Corriere dello Sport (via MilanLive) reports, Ante Rebic will be missing due to a suspension imposed by UEFA during his time at Frankfurt, while the injured Andrea Conti, Alessio Romagnoli and Rafael Leao will all miss out.
There are also doubts about Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who missed yesterday’s friendly against Brescia due to a severe bruise on his leg. The Swede should recover but his presence is not yet 100% certain.
Gianluigi Donnarumma will be in goal, Davide Calabria and Theo Hernandez will be the full-backs, while the centre-back pairing is almost certain to be Simon Kjaer and Matteo Gabbia.
In midfield Franck Kessie and Imsael Bennacer will likely start as Sandro Tonali is not yet up to speed, but the real confusion is about the choices in attack.
Pioli will use Hakan Calhanoglu as playmaker, presumably with Castillejo and Brahim Diaz on the outside lanes. However, with the possible absence of Ibrahimovic, Diaz could be used as a ‘false 9’ with Alexis Saelemaekers on the left-hand side.
Probable Milan XI (4-2-3-1): Donnarumma; Calabria, Kjaer, Gabbia, T. Hernandez; Kessie, Bennacer; Castillejo, Calhanoglu, Diaz (Saelemaekers); Ibrahimovic (Diaz/Colombo).
