AC Milan’s status as an injury-free team did not last long as Pierre Kalulu is facing weeks out with a calf injury he sustained on France U21 duty.
MilanNews report that it is difficult the estimate when Kalulu will return to the field because the calf is more delicate than other muscles, something that Mike Maignan will be able to testify after his ordeal in recent months.
This presents another challenge for Stefano Pioli to tackle as Kalulu is the only player not to miss a game this season for Milan, appearing in 37 out of 37 across all competitions playing as a centre-back in a pairing, on the right side of a three-man defence and also as a right-back.
It comes at a bad time too because the games against Fiorentina, Salernitana and Udinese (two losses and a draw with six goals conceded) shows that the leaky defence of January is back without the Frenchman to help find a solution.
It feels as though there are two hypotheses at present: the first is the idea of Davide Calabria returning at right-back in a back four and Alessandro Florenzi as the first alternative, with two of Fikayo Tomori, Malick Thiaw and Simon Kjaer as the centre-back pairing.
The other idea is a three-man defence with Tomori, Thiaw and Kjaer altogether and then Theo Hernandez as the left wing-back and either Calabria, Florenzi or Alexis Saelemaekers used as the right wing-back.
Always international break. always