Inter will have some mixed injury news for the second leg of their Champions League quarterfinal clash against Benfica, as midfielder Hakan Calahnoglu could be on track to be fit for the match, but defender Milan Skriniar is unlikely to.
This according to Italian broadcaster Sky Sport Italia, via FCInterNews, who report on the fitness of the duo ahead of next Wednesday’s match at the San Siro.
Both of Calhanoglu and Skriniar were out for yesterday evening’s Champions League quarterfinal first leg match between Inter and Benfica at the Estadio da Luz.
The Turk has been recovering from a strain to the adductor muscles in his right thigh, whilst the Slovakian has been dealing with a back injury since before the international break.
Sky report that both of Calhanoglu and Skriniar spent today working individually on their recovery programs at the Nerazzurri’s training centre.
The rest of the squad spent the night sleeping at the training centre after returning from Lisbon late in the night, and were given the day off from training.
However, both of the injured duo Calhanoglu and Skriniar continued to work on their respective recoveries.
According to Sky, there is a fair amount of optimism that the former will recover from his injury.
The 29-year-old still needs more time before he is fit, but given that there is still a week to go before the Nerazzurri face off with Benfica in the second leg of their Champions League quarterfinal tie, there is reason to think that he can be back on the pitch in time for then.
With Skriniar, however, it is likely to be a different story.
Whilst the 28-year-old continues to work on his recovery, it is still far from clear how far he has to go before he is fully fit once again.
