Midfielder Hakan Calhanoglu will miss Inter Milan’s Champions League opener against Real Sociedad through injury.
This according to to Italian news outlet FCInterNews, who report that a thigh problem will keep the 29-year-old from featuring in tomorrow evening’s match.
So far this season, Calhanoglu has started every single on of Inter’s matches in Serie A.
The Turkish international has certainly established himself as a key player for the Nerazzurri over the past couple seasons.
From his position at the base of Inter’s midfield trio, Calhanoglu has acted as Inter’s heartbeat, in and out of possession.
Therefore, Nerazzurri coach Simone Inzaghi will see it as something of a worry that he looks set to have to do without Calhanoglu for at least one match.
FCIN report that Calhanoglu has suffered a strain to the adductor muscles in his left thigh.
This will be enough to prevent the former AC Milan and Bayer Leverkusen midfielder from playing tomorrow.
Hakan Calhanoglu To Miss Out On Inter – Real Sociedad Clash Through Injury
It is not yet clear the seriousness of Calhanoglu’s injury.
The Nerazzurri have quite a few matches coming up in a short space of time.
Following tomorrow’s match against La Real, the Nerazzurri will face three Serie A matches in the space of less than a week.
Inter come up against Empoli away, Sassuolo at home, and Salernitana away.
Further updates should arrive regarding whether Calhanoglu will be able to return quickly, or whether he could miss a week or two, or more.
Given that Inter’s fixture list is now becoming congested, even an absence of a couple weeks could mean Calhanoglu misses several matches.
What is clear, though, is that Calhanoglu will not play any part tomorrow.
Inter kick off their Champions League campaign away to Real Sociedad.
Calhanoglu’s natural backup in Inter’s squad is 21-year-old former Empoli midfielder Kristjan Asllani.
The Albanian has featured a couple of times this season already, albeit only in cameo appearances from the bench.
On the other hand, Inzaghi could change the midfield system around a bit. Or alternatively, the coach could repurpose a different midfielder from the squad.
