Inter Milan coach Simone Inzaghi has given an update on the fitness of defender Francesco Acerbi and midfielder Hakan Calhanoglu.
The Nerazzurri coach spoke about the duo’s condition in a press conference after this evening’s win over Lecce, as reported by FCInterNews.
Acerbi and Calhanoglu were two players who did not start for Inter this evening. Nor did either make an appearance from the bench.
In the case of Acerbi, it always looked certain that the 35-year-old would be absent.
Acerbi is still out with a calf problem that he picked up against Roma earlier this month.
And then prior to this match, Inzaghi confirmed that Calhanoglu would not be available.
The Turkish international had also picked up a fitness issue.
Now, the big question will be when the pair will be able to return. Inter have a number of big matches on the way, starting with Wednesday’s Serie A match against Atalanta.
Inzaghi On Fitness Of Francesco Acerbi & Hakan Calhanoglu
“Acerbi will have a check-up tomorrow,” Inzaghi said.
“It’s now been fifteen days since the match in Rome. So we’ll know more then.”
And the Inter coach also said that “Calhanoglu felt some soreness during the last training session.”
“Then this morning the situation didn’t improve.”
“We didn’t risk him,” Inzaghi explained of the Turk’s absence.
“Tomorrow he’ll have a check-up,” the coach said of Calhanoglu. “We hope that we don’t lose him for long.”
And as far as the performance of Carlos Augusto in defense, Inzaghi said that “He’s doing very well.”
“The club did very well to sign him ahead of the rest of the competition,” Inzaghi said of the Brazilian, who the Nerazzurri brought in from Monza during the summer transfer window.
“He never disappoints,” the coach added.
“He has extraordinary physical quality.”
Inzaghi called Augusto “A technical, modern footballer.”
