AC Milan

AC Milan

In recent weeks, the Milan squad has been massively affected by injuries, and this can certainly be put forward as a reason for the drop in results - which almost feels unfair to call it. Nevertheless, it seems that they may be exiting that rut. This morning's edition of Gazzetta dello Sport (seen below), states that Adrien Rabiot and Christian Pulisic will almost definitely not be in the squad for the Roma game. Whilst it is tempting, it is a risk not worth taking.

For the first time in their history, AC Milan can count on over €100m in sponsorship revenue in a single financial year, as highlighted by a report. While the performances haven't always been brilliant on the pitch, with last season especially being a big struggle, Milan have made great strides on the corporate side of things. Indeed, they have worked hard on leveraging the brand as much as possible.

Jashari was the longest transfer of the summer, and it seemed like the deal would not happen at several points. However, Milan eventually got their man. Unfortunately for all parties, though, he was not given much time to embed. A challenge in training led to him fracturing his fibula, and he has spent the past few months recovering. Now, though, the process is complete, likely helped by his desire to return to the squad.

At a certain point, I asked myself, 'Why are you doing this?'. It didn't make sense anymore. It was time to listen to myself. Over the last two years, I've played in conditions that weren't normal for a professional footballer. And if I could do it again today, I'd make the same choice. I was at the stadium for Milan-Fiorentina, and I didn't get that feeling of... um... 'Wow, I wish I were on the pitch.'

This weekend, AC Milan could be gifted an easy opportunity to scout a player of interest, thanks to some injury news. There are several things at stake this weekend, and Milan will have to watch the match carefully in several respects. Of course, the result is massively important, but with players out with injury, the heart of the team will also be tested.

Several names are popping up in AC Milan's search for a new striker, and one route takes them to Franch and Joaquin Panichelli. With Santiago Gimenez's issues becoming more apparent, there is a need for Milan to consider a new striker in the January mercato. Ultimately, they do not really have another choice, unfortunately. After all, the main man not scoring in Serie A for five months is troubling.

There are certainly a few things that Milan can be frustrated by this season. The loss to Cremonese and the two recent draws are far from ideal. However, there are lessons that Allegri will refer to with his squad when he speaks of the level expected. Taking a step back, though, shows quite a good picture for the Rossoneri. Pioli, now Allegri As Opta (via MilanNews) reports, the draw in Bergamo was the ninth consecutive unbeaten game that the squad have had in all competitions.

The happiest news concerns Jashari, who was sidelined two months ago after suffering a compound fracture of his right fibula following a training collision with Gimenez. According to La Gazzetta dello Sport, the Swiss will fully rejoin the squad for training on Thursday and will therefore potentially be available to be called up for the game against Roma at San Siro on Sunday night.

Work continues ahead of Sunday evening's Milan-Roma match, with the team training again today at Milanello. MilanNews.it has learned that Ardon Jashari, out since the end of August with a fractured fibula sustained in training, will return to the squad. The Swiss midfielder is making progress. Pervis Estupinan is also back with the squad after dealing with ankle problems; the full-back will be available for Sunday.

Throughout the summer, a lot was said about the possibility of Gimenez moving to Roma, with Dovbyk coming the other way. However, the Mexican did not agree with the proposal, so it really did not get off the ground. Of course, Igli Tare asked the striker, publicly, to consider the move. Then, at the end of the mercato, it seemed like it could happen. But the move fell apart, and the Rossoneri ended the summer with Gimenez still as the first choice.

Given Adrien Rabiot is in the process of returning from an injury, AC Milan want to keep the midfielder in Italy over the next break. There has been a lot said about Milan and their internationals recently, especially since the last break caused several first-team members to return at below 100%. In fact, 100% is probably slightly generous, considering the sidelined periods.

There was a very worrying moment just a couple of minutes into the second half as the Englishman dived into a tackle and seemed to extend his knee in a funny way, going down in a heap of pain. He managed to shake it off and play on, however later in the eventual 1-1 draw he had a similar lunge that did not look entirely comfortable, and now some further information has emerged.

It's not easy playing here. After the lead, we made a lot of technical mistakes. We improved in the second half, but we definitely need to improve our decisions in the final 20 metres. At half-time, I said we couldn't have done worse. We made too many mistakes in the first half. We simply needed to make fewer mistakes, and we did.