Antonio Conte is concerned about the hectic April schedule awaiting his Inter team, according to a report in the Italian media today.
The Nerazzurri discovered yesterday that last Saturday’s postponed game at home to Sassuolo would be rearranged for Wednesday April 7.
Calciomercato.com explained that this would leave Inter with six games in 23 days next month, a ‘tour de force’ in which Conte would need a contribution from everyone in his squad.
Conte would have preferred Inter to play Sassuolo as scheduled at the weekend and must now prepare for a decisive month in the battle to fend off AC Milan and Juventus.
Inter will need to manage their players’ energy levels carefully ahead of the fixtures with Bologna, Sassuolo, Cagliari, Napoli, Spezia and Hellas Verona, the report explained.
The risk of an injury would be heightened with so many matches in a shortened space of time, obliging Conte to make use of everyone in his squad.
Conte is hoping Inter’s four players who tested positive for COVID-19 last week – Danilo D’Ambrosio, Samir Handanovic, Stefan de Vrij and Matias Vecino – will recover in time for the trip to Bologna on April 3.
He is also facing an anxious wait over Inter’s international players, 10 of whom departed earlier this week to play two or three games in the space of eight days.
Inter cannot afford to restart their Serie A title defence by dropping points at the Stadio Renato Dall’Ara but they have already stuttered after two-week breaks this season, the report highlighted.
The Nerazzurri lost the Milan derby against AC Milan straight after October’s international break, before falling to defeat at Sampdoria in their second match after returning from Serie A’s Christmas pause.
They also needed a long time to get going in their matches against Crotone (a few days before the Sampdoria loss) and at home to Torino in November, when they were 2-0 down heading into the final half-hour.
