Rafael Leao’s injury has fully healed, but AC Milan’s medical staff continue to use a lot of caution before letting him return.
It is now over a month since Leao sustained a calf injury during the Coppa Italia victory over Bari. Not long after scoring the opening goal, the Portuguese winger jumped for an aerial duel and seemed to land awkwardly, asking to come off.
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It was believed to be a minor issue at the time, but as his period of absence approaches six weeks it has been anything but that. Nevertheless, Leao’s return to action is not far away as per Corriere della Sera (via MilanNews), with an eye on a crucial upcoming fixture above all.
The paper claims that the muscle has been clinically healed, and the staff at Milanello are optimistic about the forward’s recovery for Sunday’s big league match against Napoli at San Siro.
Interviewed yesterday by SportMediaset, Allegri gave his own thoughts on when Leao will return, suggesting there is still quite a bit of uncertainty regarding the weekend.
“Tomorrow [today, vs. Lecce] absolutely not. We’ll evaluate him on Thursday and Friday and then decide whether or not he’ll be available for Napoli,” the coach said.
Today’s game is a tricky one. We cannot afford to lose, and, we cannot risk our best players for a win. Lecce are no pushovers, and, we need a win against Napoli on Sunday. Hope our players stay injury-free tonight.