The fixture list has dealt AC Milan a blow with regards to the African Cup of Nations commitments of two star players.
Read SempreMilan ad-free and get access to exclusive news. Click here for a free trial!
It was well documented that both Franck Kessie and Ismael Bennacer are set to miss a few Milan games because of the AFCON in early January 2022 until the beginning of February, with Ivory Coast and Algeria among the pre-tournament favourites and expected to make a run deep into the tournament.
The fixture release today has not been kind to Milan in this regard, because the Rossoneri will face Roma, Juventus and Inter in the stretch of games that Kessie and Bennacer are either certain, likely or possible to miss.
Therefore, a fourth midfielder is very much of paramount importance or Milan risk at this stage taking on two huge games with Sandro Tonali and either Rade Krunic or Tommaso Pobega (more of a mezzala) as their double pivot.