Big hopes for this lad. Looked not bad at ICC - a pretty organic successor for Abate.

He can actually cross, which for the life of him, is something Abate couldn't do.

He scored quite a few goals as well last season.

I'm a bit worried about this one. I'd have preferred we buy him and leave him in Atalanta for one more season. There are a few holes in his game that worries me. Especially in defence.

Oh yes, agreed.

Yeah, a friend also told me that he's bad defensively...

Worst case scenario, we still have Abate.

It's not that he's bad defensively, he just pushes forward way too much and leaves a lot of spaces behind him. Leaving him at Atalanta wouldn't have done him any good as they play with 3 at the back which allowed him the freedom to push forward a lot without having to worry too much about defensive duties

That's the beauty of having someone like Kessie playing on his side though, and lucky for us they're already very accustomed to each other as they played on the same side at Atalanta as well

He rolled his ankle right at the beginning of the second half yesterday v. Israel and was subbed. In post-game interviews, he mentioned that he thinks he's sprained his ankle. There are supposed to be medical tests today.

Conti underwent a medical test on his ankle this morning & Milan's medical staff is waiting for the results, though it doesn't look serious [Sky].

Conti has a minor injury in his ankle. He will skip the Lazio game as a precaution and will return to group training right after the game [Sky].

Milan confirm Conti has sustained a slight distortion to the right ankle. Will be monitored day by day.

Okay. It's time for Abate and Calabria. The right flank is thankfully one of our strongest positions.

Conti out for 4 months !

^^^

They aren't sure yet. There was an accident in training and it seems Conti may have torn an ACL. Won't be able to do tests until the swelling comes down and that will likely take a few days.

Poor guy.

Its official, tomorrow the operation on the knee, 6 months out.

I just saw.

Poor guy.

Damn it man! just when we're switching to a back 3 we lose one of the best WBs from last season

Our luck has been down the sh!tter this season so far

And just when he was on his way to coming back on the field, he has to undergo another surgery. Poor kid, cant catch a break.

You mean Conti?

Yes. He's out for another 3-4 months.

Argh. Poor kid.

His ligament didn't heal correctly. I hope this doesn't ruin his future. We could have really used him for the run-in. Would have even considered shifting Calabria to the left if he were fit to start

So he's returned to some action but Calabria remains first pick.

Why? Surely Conti is the better player?

I think he just can't waltz in the starting line up immediately after being out for a whole year. But he'll gradually regain his spot, I'm sure.

Wasn't he out for even longer than that? And surely you pick your best players regardless of moral righteousness? As long as they're fit enough, of course.

He started last game i think

Empoli? Yes, yes he did. Calabria suspended or injured?

None I believe.

Interesting. Plain dumped?

Dumped is too harsh of a word I'd say.

Was back last night, rash tackles and all.

Calabria has been quietly one of our best performers this season, while Conti is coming back from 2 knee ligament tears

Conti is a tremendous talent going forward, but his defensive game worries me. He might just still be rusty but Calabria imo is by far the more solid RB plus he makes excellent runs as well

Conti is the better crosser and creative outlet for sure, but the things above are being taken into account by Rino.

Add to that, the entire club is hesitant to push Conti too far too quick as his knee could easily give out again, which would be devastating for him. The Empoli game was the first 90 minutes Rino gave him as it was always going to be a relatively easy game, but he won't be playing him in a high pressure game any time soon


Nah, rested and it was a prime game to give Conti some good minutes considering it was Empoli