AC Milan will have to make do without the services of Matteo Musacchio for their UEFA Europa League round-of-16 first leg tie at the San Siro after the former Villareal defender was not included in their 18-man squad due to a muscular injury.
While Sunday’s Milan Derby was called off as a show of respect in the wake of Fiorentina captain Davide Astori’s death, Musacchio was a major doubt for the Serie A tie as well and it seems the 27-year-old hasn’t recovered in time for the visit of the Gunners as well.
Musacchio arrived at the San Siro at the starting of the season as the Rossoneri looked to rebuild their squad in the summer of 2017 and has made just 16 appearances since then.
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In fact, he’s not played in a game since the turn of the year, with the last time he featured in a tie was a 0-2 loss at the hands of Atlanta on December 23.
Gennaro Gattuso has turned things around for the Milan giants in recent weeks, but it seems the Argentine defender has fallen out of favour under the former midfielder.
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Milan are heavy favourites to progress to the last-eight of the second-tier continental completion at the expense of the crisis-hit Gunners but will have to be wary of complacency when they North Londoners on Thursday night.
Milan’s complete squad for the first leg:
Goalkeepers: A Donnarumma, G Donnarumma
Defenders: Bonucci, Calabria, Rodriguez, Romagnoli, Zapata
Midfielders: Biglia, Bonaventura, Calhanoglu, Kessie, Locatelli, Montolivo
Forwards: Borini, Cutrone, Kalinic, André Silva, Suso.