GdS: How Amorim plans to ‘reshape’ Milan after suffering double injury blow
AC Milan’s first serious injury of the season involves Alexis Saelemaekers, and Ruben Amorim will have to reshape his plans as a result.
La Gazzetta dello Sport report this morning that Saelemaekers’ right ankle injury has proven to be much worse than expected after initially promising signs. As a result, it will force him to undergo surgery next week, missing at least four months of the season.
Yesterday, Amorim also received further bad news from Ecuador: Pervis Estupinan got injured while playing for the national team. As a result, the Portuguese coach has lost his entire left flank in the new 4-2-3-1 formation seen against Lecce and will be forced to reshape his starting XI immediately.
Two gaps to fill
A statement from the Ecuadorian federation revealed the extent of Estupinan’s injury early this afternoon: “A knee injury occurred during the match against Japan. Subsequent imaging tests revealed a knee sprain with internal discomfort.”
In other words, he’s definitely out for Sunday’s match against Sassuolo and we’ll see what happens next. Should Amorim stick with the 4-2-3-1 formation, the obvious choice would be Davide Bartesaghi, who has been a key figure in recent days with the Italy U21s.
It’s hard to imagine any other immediate experiments at the moment, such as moving Strahinja Pavlovic out to the flanks or using the young Sankhoun Diawara. It should instead be the hand-in-glove fit he goes for.
As mentioned, Amorim will also have to consider Saelemaekers’ replacement after the club issued an official statement yesterday afternoon in which they spoke of a specialist evaluation after his ankle lost stability. This, it was learned shortly afterward, can only be surgery.
Saelemaekers will be back in action only in 2027, so Amorim will therefore have to find a long-term solution. Here too, the obvious choice would be Diego Moreira, currently in excellent form after scoring three goals in Serie A for Milan and starting for Belgium.
However, a tactical question arises: can the Rossoneri sustain the simultaneous presence of a centre-forward (Ramos), two attacking wing-backs (Chukwueze and Moreira), an attacking midfielder/second striker (Pulisic), and a ‘lightweight’ midfielder like Modric from kick-off?
Another scenario is even more aggressive, with the young talent Cisse instead of Moreira or Chukwueze. But in Italy, balance is key. That’s why it wouldn’t be surprising to see a Milan side with Rabiot wide on the left and the inclusion of Jashari (or Musah) in midfield.
Another idea is the return to a fixed 3-4-2-1 with Bartesaghi on the flank and Loftus-Cheek in the attacking midfield role. These are all ideas Amorim will be forced to work on this week leading up to Sassuolo vs. Milan on Sunday.
That game at the MAPEI Stadium is the first in a run of seven matches in 21 days, which will conclude on Halloween with the derby and will say a lot about the Rossoneri’s season.
