Reports: Inter could be without two planned starters for Milan derby – the latest

While AC Milan still hope to have a fully fit squad for the derby, it looks like Inter face some late fitness tests for some key players.

According to Football Italia, Cristian Chivu is ‘waiting anxiously’ for clarity on the condition of two players: Piotr Zielinski and Denzel Dumfries. Both would be strong contenders to start the game, in the left central midfield and right wing-back roles respectively.

Zielinski scored and assisted against Malta as Poland came from behind to beat them, but speaking to TVP Sport he admitted that he came out of the game banged up.

“We knew it would be a difficult match… as for me, my calf and my lower back were very painful. I’ll recover from this game, but it hurt a lot,” he said.

As per to La Gazzetta dello Sport there are no scans booked in at the moment, but they will watch his recovery closely. Chivu would start him if he were 100% with Henrikh Mkhitaryan ruled out, so Petar Sucic could be poised for his first derby start.

However, arguably the even more pressing case concerns Dumfries, whose ankle injury has turned out to be something more than a gentle knock. There is growing pessimism among the Nerazzurri ranks about him being fit enough to start against Milan, an opponent he knows well.

Should Dumfries be unavailable, Chivu is expected to turn to Carlos Augusto who has typically played on the left but can do a job on the right. As a reminder, the only doubt for the Rossoneri concerns Santiago Gimenez, but all of the ‘regular starters’ should be fit.