AC Milan central midfielder Ismael Bennacer has undergone surgery on his knee and will be out of action for at least six months.
The 25-year-old went off early in Milan’s 2-0 loss to rivals Inter Milan in the first leg of their Champions League semi-final clash last week.
A statement from the club read: “AC Milan announces that Ismael Bennacer underwent surgery on his right knee in Lyon this morning.
“The repair of the cartilage lesion was successfully performed by Dr Bertrand Sonnery Cottet in the presence of AC Milan’s club doctor, Dr Stefano Mazzoni.
“The recovery time is estimated to be at least six months.”
Bennacer will be a massive miss for the Rossoneri as they bid to mount an unlikely comeback against Inter tonight.
They are also fighting to finish in the top four in Serie A – a battle that their recent 2-0 loss to Spezia did not help.
Milan boss Stefano Pioli will reshape his midfield to face the Nerazzurri. Sandro Tonali will likely start alongside Rade Krunic.
Star forward Rafael Leao has trained and can play against Inter. The Portuguese international has recovered from the knock that made him miss the first leg.
Milan were without their talismanic forward, who has bagged 13 goals and 13 assists in 44 appearances this season. The 23-year-old helped Milan win their first Scudetto in 11 years last term.
Junior Messias has recovered from a knock that kept him out of training yesterday. He rejoined the group today and completed the sessions.
Pioli’s starting XI for the game practically chooses itself. The only question he faces is who to play on the right wing between Alexis Saelemaekers and Messias.
Milan have a tough task on their hands tonight. They must overturn a two-goal deficit from last week against an Inter side that looked stronger and tactically superior.
