Inter head coach Simone Inzaghi is hoping that defender Alessandro Bastoni will not be out against Liverpool in the Champions League with the ankle injury he sustained yesterday.
This according to today’s print edition of Rome-based newspaper Corriere dello Sport, who report that the coach is holding his breath to see how long the 22-year-old will be out with the sprained ankle.
Bastoni landed awkwardly during a challenge with Roma midfielder Nicolo Zaniolo towards the end of the first half of yesterday evening’s Coppa Italia clash with the Giallorossi, and he immediately signalled that he’d need to be substituted.
The 22-year-old came off the pitch in tears with what was evidently a painful injury, and the club confirmed that the defender had suffered a sprained ankle.
It remains to be seen how serious the injury is and how long it will be before Bastoni recovers, however.
Bastoni had already been handed a two-match suspension earlier yesterday for his words to officials in the aftermath of Saturday’s Milan derby, so he would have missed the next two Serie A games anyway.
However, with the first leg of the massive Champions League clash with Liverpool just a week away, coach Inzaghi will be nervously awaiting further updates on the defender’s recovery timeline.
The Nerazzurri will already be without Nicolo Barella for both legs of the clash with the Reds, and the coach will be hoping that he can call upon one of his key defenders in the form of Bastoni.