Franco Ordine has revealed that AC Milan are not happy with the way that Switzerland managed the workload (or rather didn’t manage) of Noah Okafor over the recent international break.
Milan will play some very important matches without some of their key players. Tomorrow against Fiorentina they will be without the suspended Olivier Giroud, who was going to be replaced by Okafor until he came back from international duty with a hamstring issue.
The Swiss forward started three games in six days for his national team as they closed out their Euro 2024 qualifying campaign, and clearly it was too much for him as he suffered a muscle lesion that is expected to keep him out for at least a fortnight.
According to what Ordine has written in his piece for Il Giornale (via PianetaMilan) this morning, the Rossoneri are not best pleased with him starting three games in quick succession despite Stefano Pioli’s diplomatic response in his press conference.
“Okafor returned to Milanello and surprisingly announced the news of his injury: no one from the Swiss national team called Milan to inform them. Furlani started an official protest which will be of little use. And any FIFA compensation will not compensate for the damage suffered,” it reads.
“The episode confirms the hole in Milan’s organisational chart: the lack of a manager. By reading the Swiss calendar, someone could have made the coach aware of the need to safeguard Okafor’s health. Stefano Pioli could have done it. But also the player he should have reported to the coach the risk of the third match in six days.”