In a miraculous way, Milan pulled out the victory in Empoli, once again showing the indestructible spirit of survival that graced them last season, but it also came with a heavy price.The fitness balance in the squad is now even worse, the number of injured players is increasing, so Stefano Pioli will struggle to prepare the team the day after tomorrow against Chelsea.Alessandro Florenzi, Divock Origi and Junior Messias were injured for a while now. Zlatan Ibrahimovic is recovering from a knee injury and will not play until 2023. Theo Hernandez was injured against Napoli, and goalkeeper Mike Maignan was injured during the international break. Against Empoli, starting right back Davide Calabria, all-rounder Alexis Saelemaekers and stopper Simon Kjaer suffered injuries.What are the chances of Milan having either of the three available against Chelsea? Almost none…👊 In spite of the injuries, #ACMilan showed their strength as a team once again. ➡ Pioli’s words: https://t.co/nTkIWNtM7u pic.twitter.com/udle0MPSYO— SempreMilan 🏆 (@SempreMilanCom) October 2, 2022 Florenzi is up for a few more weeks of rest, Calabria will see no football until the end of the year, Maignan is out until the end of the month, Saelemaekers has damaged knee ligaments and will be out for six to eight weeks, Theo Hernandez could be on the field in 10 days, Messias still feels calf pain, Simon Kjaer could play at the weekend against Juventus, as well as Divock Origi. For Chelsea on the other hand, most of the above-mentioned are off limits, except Messias and Origi, who could come off the bench.At first glance, it is noticeable that Milan lost almost the entire right side (Calabria, Florenzi, Saelemaekers, Messias) while in the defensive line they were left with only five players.##NAJAVA_MECA_6685011##Pioli doesn’t have much choice when it comes to defense. Reinforcement Sergino Dest will get the opportunity to start against Chelsea for the first time because there is no other right back. Maybe he will have a big motive because not so long ago he was wanted by Chelsea. Kalulu and Tomori will be the stoppers and Fode Balo Toure will be the left back. The only alternative is the young and unreliable stopper Matteo Gabbia. A reminder, summer signing Malick Thiaw is not registered for the Champions League.On the right side, Rade Krunić should play in front of Dest. It’s not his natural role, but if there’s a player Stefano Pioli is ready to entrust with any task, it’s the Bosnian lad. Krunic is Pioli’s “swiss army knife” because of its universality and versatility. Another option is to move the biggest reinforcement – Charles De Ketelaere to the right side, but Pioli has so far avoided moving him away from the midfield.With Davide Calabria and Simon Kjær both suffering injuries today vs Empoli that could very likely sideline them for awhile, this is a massive opportunity for Sergino Dest to get a huge run of games as a starter at right back for AC Milan. pic.twitter.com/ZH1937gS4N— USMNT Otaku 🇺🇸 (@USMNTOtaku) October 1, 2022 Raphael Leao and Olivier Giroud should carry all the burden up front, while Tonali and Bennacer are expected to hold the midfield. The problem for Milan is that immediately after Chelsea comes the derby with Juventus, in which they will not be able to count on a bunch of players again, followed by the rematch with the Blues. Until the end of the month, four more matches await them, three of which are away games (Verona, Dinamo Zagreb and Torino), while they only play against Monza at home. A hellish schedule for the already reduced playing staff of the Rossoneri…But last season they were also plagued by injuries during the fall, so they somehow managed to pull through and eventually win the title.
