There is the distinct possibility that Alexis Saelemaekers will miss more than one game for AC Milan with a muscular issue, a repot claims.
Despite starting the game against his former side Roma late last month, Saelemaekers came off at half-time after a recurrence of his muscle problem, forcing him to sit out of the game against Bologna this evening at the Stadio Renato dall’Ara.
Read SempreMilan ad-free and get access to exclusive news. Click here for a free trial!
According to La Gazzetta dello Sport (seen below), the Belgian has more specifically suffered a worsening of his left adductor muscle strain. The player had tried to grit his teeth in recent weeks, but the pain returned sharply during the last training sessions at Milanello.
The expected lay-off is at least a couple of weeks. This means that in addition to tonight’s match against Bologna, Saelemaekers will almost certainly also miss the match against Pisa on February 13th.
The medical staff now aims to have him back at 100% for the next match after that which will be at home against Como, avoiding further relapses that could compromise the crucial phase of the season. Zachary Athekame is expected to be called upon to replace him.
Meanwhile, Christian Pulisic will also be out with a muscular problem, but the expectation is that the American will be fine for the Pisa game in the next round.
I know the squad is thin, but Saele should not have played against Roma. The injury mismanagement has been brutal this season
100% agreed. If they’d just sidelined Leao properly when his injury first cropped up, he’d probably be recovered and fully functional by now. It is a function of having a coach who won’t trust players outside of the ones he trusts. And this is why you also don’t buy crocked players (Mateta).
It’ll give Athekame a chance to shine. He’s played well when he has played so far.
Likewise. Who knows, maybe he will surprise us, like Barteshagi did.