Inter cannot afford to play any more matches without Mauro Icardi as the club prepare for a decisive week in their season, Italian journalist Luigi Garlando wrote today.

Inter face Eintracht Frankfurt in the Europa League last 16 on Thursday before playing Milan in the derby on Sunday, but a booking for Lautaro Martinez against SPAL tomorrow would force them to play both games without any recognised strikers available.

Icardi has not featured for the Nerazzurri since being stripped of the captaincy on 13 February and Garlando urged the club to resolve the situation in the next few days.

“Everyone has messed up in this story,” Garlando wrote in Gazzetta dello Sport.

“Icardi has failed to justify the captaincy he received in his contract in 2015 with his behaviour off the pitch.

“Wanda Nara has provoked everyone by discussing everything in public.

“Inter have handled Icardi’s contract negotiations poorly and then fooled themselves into thinking they could resolve everything with one bold move (taking the captaincy off him).

“Spalletti has hampered the club’s attempts at diplomacy by taking cheap shots at Icardi in public.

“And the dressing room has taken advantage of the situation to pursue personal feuds.

“Ultimately everybody has made the same mistake: they have lost sight of the common good, or rather what’s best for Inter and their supporters. But now is the time for common sense and accountability to prevail.

“Everybody involved in this saga has promised they love Inter, and now it’s time they proved it. Everyone needs to hold their noise and make a step towards one another.”