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With the Supercoppa Italiana semi-final against Napoli coming in a couple of days, AC Milan’s attack once again remains a puzzle.
As La Gazzetta dello Sport (seen below) write this morning, Milan fans aged 40 and over will be paler than usual this morning because yesterday afternoon they saw a ghost straight out of the 1990s. Why? The talk of a striker who went to Holland for a consultation and is considering ankle surgery.
It’s exactly like the script for the movie that saw Marco van Basten retire early. He decided to undergo surgery against the advice of the Milan doctors and the final part of his career didn’t go as hoped.
Santiago Gimenez has a very different past and a far less problematic situation, but he faces a similar decision: therapy or surgery? The answer will influence the near future of Milan, who have a lot of uncertainties in attack.
Gimenez and his ankle
Gimenez hasn’t played football since Atalanta-Milan on October 28th, a month and a half ago. He came off looking at his right ankle with a pained expression, and since then, he hasn’t resolve the issue.
He felt pain and on November 5th he posted a message on his Instagram profile: “For several months I’ve been playing with an ankle injury that hasn’t allowed me to be 100% fit or feel comfortable on the pitch. With a great desire to continue helping the team, I continued to play, but the pain worsened, and the time has come to stop. Now I have to recover and prepare to return as soon as possible.”
However, by early December, Gimenez seemed to be feeling better. He wasn’t in pain, trained on the pitch, and planned his return. It’s no coincidence that Allegri said: “The ankle is fine now.” Instead, it isn’t.
Santiago went to Amsterdam yesterday to see Professor Gino Kerkhoffs – an ankle specialist – for a consultation. A decision will be made in the next few days, with the aim of choosing the best solution for a timely and, above all, optimal recovery.
This isn’t an easy situation, and it remains to be seen why, after Bergamo, the pain suddenly became unbearable. One thing is ceertain: Santi won’t be traveling with the team to Riyadh today, where the Super Cup semifinal against Napoli will take place on Thursday.
Leao also struggling
Matteo Gabbia, too, won’t be traveling after hyper-extending his knee. There’s no injury, but the pain remains. Gabbia hopes to watch the semif-inal in Milan and fly to Saudi Arabia for the final.
The problem is that, for Napoli, Milan are seriously at risk of not even having Rafa Leao. The second piece of the attacking puzzle: Leao was injured against Torino on December 8th, a strained right adductor.
An MRI ruled out muscle damage, but Rafa is still not fully recovered and always trains separately. It’s very difficult to imagine him recovering in two days. January comes to mind, when he arrived in Riyadh injured with doubts about whether he will play.
As a reminder, he missed the semi-final against Juventus, and came on after five minutes in the second half of the final against Inter. It was a move that turned the match around, as he helped inspire a comeback from 0-2 to 3-2.
The one certainty
So, who will start the day after tomorrow? The man with the balloon: Christopher Nkunku. Allegri has two forwards at his disposal and the idea is for them to play together: Nkunku plus Christian Pulisic.
In the league game against Napoli, Max chose Pulisic and Gimenez, with Saelemaekers wide on the right. Are there alternatives? Yes, like Ruben Loftus-Cheek as an atypical striker or even a system change, because Allegri knows how to surprise in one-off matches.
Nkunku, whatever happens, will be crucial for the Supercoppa and the 2025 finale. Milan need him and are hoping he will get back to scoring. His condition in training has been good for a couple of weeks.
His assist to Bartesaghi on Sunday lunchtime showed a glimpse, as did the way he arrived to meet a cross from Estupinan. It’s impossible to say whether he will get back on the scoresheet, but in Riyadh they know: even in the middle of a desert, a city can be born.
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