Tuesday Milan Musings, Injury Report

By: Gianfranco | October 2nd, 2007

-Kakha Kaladze will be out of action for at least a month due to a groin injury. This means that Bonera will probably get the nod alongside Nesta until Kaladze or Il Capitano comes back. I am not a huge fan of Bonera, he looks like deer in headlights at times, but he does play well Nesta is in. Probably due to the fact that Nesta raises the level of player around him, much like Maldini used to do.

-Simic is preparing for a January exit from the San Siro, his playing time has been next to nothing this season, but will probably go up with the injury to Kaladze. He has never really been used to his potential at the San Siro, and it is hard to believe he has been there for seven years! He and Favalli are pretty interchangeable and if it was not for Janks playing so well lately, Simic would probably be in that spot.

RONALDO
-Ronaldo is nearing a return and quite frankly I do not care. First of all, his injury has been a disaster, causing a stir, and making everyone point fingers at everyone else. I have not for one second believed that Ronaldo was the answer or savior to anything, and I barely even believe he has a chance to return to 75% of the Ronaldo he used to be. If he shuts up and can bury some balls in the back of net I will be happy, not for him, but for my team. We need goals.

CAPTAIN
-Il Capitano is nearing an end of October return. I do not expect him to play a ton but if he is healthy he will want to be on the pitch. Anytime he is out there it bodes well for the Rossoneri, it is a special year for him and I would like it to remember as such. I do not want to remember his last season as a monthly match and the bench all the rest.

Tomorrow Milan will show down with Celtic who comes in exactly opposite of Milan. They are playing well and have always played well against Milan. They are tough defending team with the tendency to clog the run of play in the midfield. Carletto really needs to rile the troops and make sure a lineup with some creativity is in, instead of 2-3 ball winners. This is not Serie A, a draw will not cut it.

If I was Carlo…
Kalac,
Janks, Nesta, Bonera, Oddo
Gattuso, Pirlo, Seedorf
Kaka
Gila, Pippo

The team needs goals and this lineup favors Kaka the most. It gives him options and also keeps the ball wide in the park. They need to stay out of the middle as much as possible. Look for ex-Milan Massimo Donati, and then envision him still at the San Siro.