Sergio Conceicao was really hoping to be able to call upon Ruben Loftus-Cheek for the game against Feyenoord, but he has been disappointed again.
As Calciomercato.com report, the squad will leave for Rotterdam this afternoon ahead of tomorrow’s Champions League play-off round first leg against Feyenoord and Conceicao is once again battling a selection emergency.
The coach will only be able to count on 17 outfield players, including the youngsters Davide Bartesaghi and Francesco Camarda. Warren Bondo, Riccardo Sottil, Alex Jimenez and Luka Jovic are not on the squad list, while Yunus Musah is suspended, then Emerson Royal, Alessandro Florenzi and Loftus-Cheek are injured.
For RLC there was some hope of making it back but yet again he is not ready. He suffered two injuries in two months: the first on 11 December (2-1 against Red Star) in the Champions League, then the relapse in the Supercoppa Italiana final against Inter.
The midfielder is targeting Verona on Saturday night at San Siro as the game for his return, his condition will be monitored day by day. Beyond the specific case, the increasingly widespread feeling at Milan is that of a midfielder who is no longer able to be a resource, because of his physical issues.
Loftus-Cheek is a player that Sergio Conceicao likes the idea of having given his strength and his direct nature, yet if he cannot stay fit then it doesn’t matter. In the summer Milan will evaluate offers for the former Chelsea man, who arrived in the 2023 summer window for €15m plus €3m in bonuses.
This is why he never made it at Chelsea
Yup. Puli worked out great (i had similar concerns on puli’s ability to be fit).
RLC, did not work out at all. Even when fit, he left a lot to be desired. Nonetheless, hope he gets fit again and if conceicao can put him to work then it’s something to cheer.
I kind of disagree. Staying injured and off the pitch is the best contribution RLC can make to Milan.
what a shame, IDK how he managed 10 goals last season but we could have used that this season too. Seems like we may not get that again from him.
The bigger question is: Why did they put RLC on the CL list instead of Bondo? It was already clear that RLC keeps having setbacks while Bondo only had a minor problem. Now we are a midfielder down and we already had too few to count on. Not a smart move…
We’re only able to register 3 new names. Hence the selection of Santi, Joao, and Kyle.
Really? Oh man, I thought they could send in a new squad-list. Well that explains the exclution of Bondo then. I already found it strange to keep an injured player on the list. I thought maybe he would finally be close to playing again 🙁
If Chelsea sells you a player for 15 mln, you need to be careful.
RLC did his job last season but its time to move on.
RLC is deadwood personified.
he is obviously getting upgraded by Ricci… midfield will be finally solved in the summer… hope Felix and Alexis stay…
the final touches will be strikers for 4-4-2. Lorenzo Lucca and Berardi (cheap and experienced) can be good subs for Gimenez – Felix duo. and then sub Leao…
He’s useless if he’s never available. Maybe time to part ways and upgrade.
Dead wood. Hopefully the days of us buying these unwanted English players, especially from Chelsea, are over. Tomori good few months, didn’t work out. Same with RLC. Abraham useless. We need to focus on quality, preferably Italian, and not these rejects.
I really hope Milan can offload him next summer. Even if we get 8-10 mil would be nice (Come on Como, lol). Any player, who is good but is not available most of the time due to injury, is not worth to keep. And RLC is not even that good anyway.
RLC was a player with a bright future until his Achilles injury that happen in a meaningless game. I wonder if that continues to impact him with these calf injuries. I’m reading the ACM might be interested in Nunez and would need to sell Leão. While I’m not a Leão fan I think he brings more to the table than Nunez. Also, Leão has looked better the last two games in terms of his defensive work.
Him and Puli were both risks given the injury record. This was what folks were concerned about when we got them. One panned out beautifully but RLC did not. And that’s the risk we took. A fit RLC I believe would do well under Conceicao. But that the thing….. fitness.
He has had great matches for us but is more like Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. Never consistent.