There are no injury worries for Inter midfielders Hakan Calhanoglu and Nicolo Barella following yesterday evening’s Coppa Italia semifinal second leg win over Juventus.
This according to Italian broadcaster Sky Sport Italia, via FCInterNews, who report that medical tests show that neither of the pair picked up a serious injury in yesterday evening’s match, and that they are not in doubt with respect to this Sunday’s match against Lazio.
Yesterday evening both of Barella and Calhanoglu came off as substitutes during the second half, with the pair exiting the pitch to be replaced by Marcelo Brozovic and Roberto Gagliardini respectively.
As Barella came off the pitch, there was a sense that the former Cagliari midfielder had been struggling to keep up with the pace of the match due to some physical problem, although he appeared to give reassurances on the bench.
Meanwhile, whilst it had initially looked like Inzaghi was simply throwing Gagliardini on to shore up in the midfield battle, a report immediately after the match suggested that Calhanoglu had in fact suffered a thigh injury.
In his comments after the match, Nerazzurri coach Simone Inzaghi was confident that neither of the pair had received serious injuries, noting that he had received positive signs from the club’s medical staff.
The coach explained that there didn’t look to be any problem for either midfielder besides a bit of fatigue.
However, it was always likely to have to wait until the day after the match to see what the actual extent of the injuries were.
Now, confirmation has arrived that Inzaghi’s initial optimism was warranted, according to Sky.
The broadcaster reports that no serious injuries have been found for either of Barella or Calhanoglu.
This will come as a big relief given the vital role that both of the pair have in the Nerazzurri’s midfield, with so many important matches just around the corner starting with this weekend’s league clash with Lazio.