Pioli reveals that Leao could still start against Inter but day of game will be crucial

By Oliver Fisher -

AC Milan head coach Stefano Pioli has suggested that Rafael Leao could play tomorrow against Inter but a decision has not yet been made.

There was real panic when Portuguese winger suffered some discomfort in the adductor muscle of his right thigh during the win over Lazio on Saturday and it was said at the time that his condition will be monitored day by day.

When the players came out for their training session on the eve of the game earlier today Leao did not train with the rest of the squad but rather took part in some running individually on a separate part of the field.

Interviewed by Sky, Pioli spoke about a number of topics in view of tomorrow’s first leg and the fitness of Leao was one of them, with his comments relayed by MilanNews.

“I too looked for the word elongation on the internet when I received the message about his injury… Field work was scheduled for today, tomorrow morning he’ll try to push and if he’s ok there he will be present, otherwise he won’t,” Pioli said.

“He could start or he won’t even be on the bench. We clearly can’t take risks with him. Tomorrow it will depend on the type of work he will do, for the quality and characteristics of the player he must be at 100%. Let’s see, it’s still open.”

Moving onto the game more generally, Pioli stated that he feels the best way to approach it is to try and relish the occasion rather than getting bogged down by the pressure.

“I hope I have managed to convey to the players the happiness and enthusiasm of preparing for these matches. The path in the Champions League is exceptional, but we know where we come from and where we want to get there. If we prepare things in the best way, we must have this serenity that will help us to give everything we have.

“The coach’s work goes a lot into the mental energies to be transmitted to the team. Let’s talk about the Champions League, we talked about the challenges we overcame from the round of 16 to get here. We talked about the experience with Tottenham and Napoli, to understand where we are were good at holding up these opponents.

“It takes great teamwork. [In the big Champions League matches] We were a team from start to finish, we fought, suffered all together. To get an exceptional result, you need an exceptional performance.”

Tags AC Milan Rafael Leao Stefano Pioli

5 Comments

  1. Just forget it. 4 days to recover form a muscle injury is ridiculous, even a minor one. Do not risk him even if he feels ok, as we could lose him for the last 4 important matches of the season. Let him sit this one and Spezia out to recover, then have him back for the return leg.

    That being said, it is imperative not to lose the first leg. If we lose we’re most probably out. We need to contain Inter in this round and go for the knock out with Leao in the second round.

    1. Right, pioli should do this and we shall be fine tomorrow :

      Giroud

      Alexis Diaz Messias

      Tonali Bennacer

      Let Bennacer return to his deep midfield, he can’t fit in that no. 10 in all the games

  2. We should choke the midfield and defence. Ibrahinmovic is important in this type of game psyche the boys up. If we can play draw first leg, then we are good.

  3. We can’t go into the game with the idea if playing not to lose! Inter is not the boggy man … look where they are on the table! Leao is very skillful player capable of changing games but Milan showed last time they are capable of playing football when he is not around… keep the faith guys… no one thought Milan might reach simi this season… against Tottenham the said Milan will be out and they celebrated in napoli when they draw us…. inzghi usually more cautious and they might be playing it safe

  4. As always the question is, which Milan turns up?
    We need to be solid but we also must keep some control of the game and put them under pressure!

    So I hope the Milan of the 4-0 v Napoli turns up.

    Let’s pray Rafa is ok.

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