GdS: Rabiot ‘even more important than Modric’ for Milan – why his return is crucial

Adrien Rabiot has recovered from his calf injury and will be available against Inter tomorrow evening, which for AC Milan is a massive boost. 

Rabiot got injured during the second international break of the season, which was in mid-October, and he remained out of action until earlier this week. Now, he’s ready to play again and Massimiliano Allegri even confirmed during his presser that the Frenchman will be one of the starters.

For Milan, as highlighted by Gazzetta dello Sport, Rabiot’s return is absolutely essential and has increased the Rossoneri’s chances of winning the derby by a lot. In the newspaper’s words, Rabiot is ‘even more important than Modric in some ways’.

Photo by Marco Luzzani/Getty Images

In the transition phase, no other Milan player can match Rabiot’s intensity and ability, quickly going from strong defending to pushing forward. If Modric is the metronome, then Rabiot acts as the team’s centre of gravity. Subsequently, there is a Milan with and a Milan without Rabiot.

In the five games with Rabiot on the pitch (Bologna, Udinese, Napoli, and Juve in the league, Lecce in the Coppa Italia), the points average was 2.6 per game; in the eight without him (Cremonese, Lecce, Fiorentina, Pisa, Atalanta, Roma, and Parma in the league, Bari in the Coppa Italia), the points average dropped to 1.87.

A huge difference for those aiming for the Scudetto. Rabiot’s return thus couldn’t have come at a better time and it remains to be seen if he will play a key role tomorrow too.