With a packed fixture list coming up, AC Milan coach Gennaro Gattuso will undoubtedly hope to have as close to a fully-fit squad at his disposal as possible.
The Rossoneri have gone eight games unbeaten in all competitions, winning their last three consecutive outings while scoring 10 goals in the process.
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In turn, they’ve hit top form just at the right time ahead of the Milan derby against Inter on October 21, albeit the international break has potentially broken their momentum.
Nevertheless, with seven games to be played between the Inter showdown and November 11 against Juventus, that run of fixtures will undoubtedly test Gattuso and his squad’s depth, which makes this latest update on the fitness of defensive duo Mattia Caldara and Andrea Conti crucial.
According to Calciomercato, Caldara is expected to be named in the squad to face Inter, although he likely won’t feature until the game against Real Betis in the Europa League four days later.
As for Conti, he’s touted to potentially return at the end of the month or the start of November, and so after two serious knee injuries since joining Milan from Atalanta last year, he’ll be itching to be involved and will be desperate to avoid another further setbacks.
That could apply pressure to both Mateo Musacchio and Davide Calabria in the starting line-up, but as noted above, given Milan are trying to compete on multiple fronts, Gattuso will need quality and depth available to him to not only be able to rotate but to push his players to perform better.
He’ll seemingly get that in defence moving forward, and if they can start to keep things tight at the back, coupled with their in-form attack, it could spell danger for their rivals in the coming weeks.