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AC Milan will resume full training at Milanello on Tuesday, beginning preparations for the derby on Sunday, but there is a question mark hanging over Adrien Rabiot.
As La Gazzetta dello Sport (seen below) recall this morning, Rabiot’s last game for Milan was back on October 5 against Juventus, the disappointing 0-0 draw where the Rossoneri spurned big chances to record a huge win.
In the three previous games with Rabiot on the pitch, Milan had always been victorious, with six goals scored and only one conceded (and that was a penalty, against Napoli). The numbers speak for themselves: with the Frenchman on the pitch, it’s a different Milan.
Doubt persists
This is why Massimiliano Allegri wants him back in the team immediately, starting with the derby. And that’s why Adrien is working tirelessly at Milanello: yesterday, on the last of the team’s three days of rest, the Frenchman trained following his own personalised program, one that he completed
From this afternoon when preparations resume, Rabiot is expected back with the rest of the team in full training. The former Marseille man injured his calf while playing for the French national team in mid-October and since then had limited himself to watching the others train.
He has only had ad hoc sessions and this is why his form can’t yet be at its peak. This week will also be used to ramp up towards full speed. There’s plenty of time to regain his rhythm and intensity, but ‘if caution prevails’, Samuele Ricci and Ruben Loftus-Cheek could start instead.
If Rabiot isn’t offering the coach and his staff the necessary guarantees, they are ready to step up. There is even the possibility that Ricci or Loftus-Cheek take the place of Youssouf Fofana even if Rabiot is fit, given that he has struggled in the last few games.
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