AC Milan boss Gennaro Gattuso could be set to see his injury crisis ease as both Mateo Musacchio and Alessio Romagnoli are edging closer to making a comeback.
The Rossoneri have been left short of numbers both in midfield and defence with Musacchio, Romagnoli, Mattia Caldara, Lucas Biglia and Giacomo Bonaventura all emerging as long-term absentees.
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Ignazio Abate has been forced to play in an unnatural role as a centre-half in their absence, albeit he has impressed, alongside Cristian Zapata as the pair have done a commendable job in covering.
Nevertheless, Gattuso will undoubtedly be eager to get his first-choice pairing back as soon as possible, and as seen in the club’s tweet below, they’ve welcomed Musacchio back to the match-day squad to face Olympiakos in their crunch Europa League tie on Thursday night.
? #UEL Squad list announced: @MateoMusacchio5 is back!
I 20 convocati per #OlympiacosMilan: torna Musacchio! pic.twitter.com/kzguGCxyTa— AC Milan (@acmilan) December 12, 2018
Further, as noted by Calciomercato, Romagnoli has resumed full training and is nearing a return of his own, with next Tuesday’s clash with Bologna being touted as a possible comeback date.
It remains to be seen if he comes through this week unscathed, but Milan will be delighted to have their captain back leading by example in the backline in the near future, while Musacchio could have trouble displacing either Zapata or Abate initially as he gets his match fitness back.
Bonaventura remains out until next season while Biglia and Mattia Caldara aren’t expected back until next year. Nevertheless, ahead of a busy and important festive period in which Milan hope to secure safe passage through to the Europa League knockout stage coupled with their ongoing pursuit of a top-four finish in Serie A, having both Romagnoli and Musacchio back will be crucial.
