AC Milan coach Gennaro Gattuso could reportedly have some welcome news this week as Gonzalo Higuain steps up his recovery from injury.
The Argentine forward has missed the last two games after suffering a setback, with back-up option Patrick Cutrone also working his way back from his own injury issue.
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In turn, Gattuso was forced to field Fabio Borini as his striker in the draw with Empoli last week, before going with Samu Castillejo as a false nine in the 4-1 win over Sassuolo.
While the latter performance suggested that they could survive without Higuain, the fact that the 30-year-old scored three goals in three games prior to his injury setback suggests that Gattuso would much prefer to have his talisman fit and leading the line.
As reported by MilanNews.it, Sky Sport Italia journalist Gianluca Di Marzio has suggested that Higuain could return to face Olympiakos in the Europa League on Thursday night as he looks set to return to join the rest of the group in training on Tuesday.
However, perhaps a more likely scenario is that he makes his return against Chievo on Sunday, giving him more time to fully recovery and work on his fitness to avoid aggravating the issue and suffering a fresh problem.
The Rossoneri were clinical against Sassuolo and took their goals well. Nevertheless, having a prolific forward like Higuain in the side will always give them a better chance of winning games, and so Gattuso will be delighted to welcome him back into his starting line-up as soon as possible.
Coupled with Cutrone slowly working his way back to full fitness, it will be a real boost for Milan to get their two strikers back up to speed given the lack of quality and options beyond them in terms of natural forwards.