AC Milan have been without their three top centre-backs Fikayo Tomori, Malick Thiaw and Pierre Kalulu for some time now, but when will they each be back?
The three defenders each suffered quite serious muscle problems towards the back end of 2023 which thrust the department into such an emergency that Theo Hernandez was forced to play centre-back and Matteo Gabbia was brought back from his loan at Villarreal.
This morning’s edition of La Gazzetta dello Sport (as seen below) talks about the ‘domino effect that knocked out Milan’s starting defence’, leaving Stefano Pioli to scratch around and find solutions.
As per the paper, Thiaw will return to training with the rest of the squad in about 20 days, Tomori and Kalulu will follow him immediately after. The German should therefore be available to the team in a month, or at most 40 days.
He will be the first of the central defenders to leave the treatment room, while for Tomori and Kalulu it will take a bit more time as they must carefully follow the schedule set for them. As always the same plan remains: first individual work, then group training and then the full return.
Meanwhile Ismael Bennacer will return to Milanello after Algeria were eliminated from the Africa Cup of Nations. Yesterday he wasn’t even on the bench due to an adductor problem which will be evaluated when he is back.
Please don’t waste funds on another CB. It will also cause disharmony when all defenders are fit
So why are we trying to get a CB?
Es stimmt, Dann haben wir zu viele Verteidiger
To be able to sell Tomori in the summer and not extend Kjaer. And both decisions would be idiotic.
Kjaer will be gone, Tomori unlikely … only for a high price (60+ million). Both decisions are far from idiotic.
At this point, I think Maignan and Theo are the two most likely to be sold next summer.
That said, it’s very likely we won’t get another defender unless it’s on loan with option. That way, when Kjaer leaves, we’d have a better idea whether the new defender can replace him.
I think Kjaer is still a very solid defender and positionally better than our other defenders, and his biggest problem is the fact that he’s now more injury prone and each problem take longer to heal and take months and not weeks. Both Kjaer and Kalulu seem more injury prone and we can have only one. I’d also wait until the end of the season to evaluate Gabbia’s current level.
At this point, I’d be ok with Kjaer leaving, even though I value him the most.
BENNY COMING BACK!
Make them fight for there place. Gabbia has been treated like Adli. They both deserve their starting positions.
Give Kjaer and Giroud a other year for leadership education to the younger members of the squad.