The international break that came to an end earlier this week was heavily discussed, given that the players are already on a tight schedule with their respective clubs. Some AC Milan players benefitted from it, though.
In total, 17 of the Rossoneri’s players were called up for international duty but three of them left immediately (Calabria, Hernandez and Tonali). 12 of the players featured at least once, as Saelemaekers and Tomori were the only ones not to.
Even though the international break has been criticised, given the already tight schedule, a few Milan players benefitted from the playing time. Ballo-Toure, who will start against Empoli, got warmed up as he played 85 minutes for Senegal in the 2-0 win against Bolivia.
Vranckx captained Belgium’s U21 side and played the games against the Netherlands and France from start (160 minutes total). Thiaw started both games for Germany’s U21 side (vs. France and England) and played 164 minutes in total.
Another one worth mentioning is Pobega, who came off the bench for Italy against both England and Hungary, playing 44 minutes in total. It’s safe to say that the aforementioned players benefitted from getting some playing time, being backups at Milan.
In addition them, it must be mentioned that the likes of Tonali and Rebic were able to recover thanks to the break. Calabria also got some extra time, even if he probably would have made it back in a short time anyway. Meanwhile, the number of games missed for Hernandez was decreased (compared to if there hadn’t been a break).
Tomori and Saelemaakers were both called up but didn’t play, so they will also have energy returning from international duty.
