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MULTIMEDIA
May 27, 2012
 
 
 
 
 
 

Milan sweat on Nesta, Inter midfield hit ahead of derby

AC Milan’s Alessandro Nesta (foreground) is seen after scoring during their Serie A match against Juventus in Turin in this Jan. 10 file photo.
24 January 2010 / REUTERS/AP, ROME
AC Milan is sweating on defender Alessandro Nesta’s fitness while leader Inter Milan has midfield injury worries for a derby that may have a huge influence on the Serie A title race today.
Second-placed Milan’s hopes of winning the match to pull within three points of Inter with a game in hand will suffer a big blow if Nesta fails to recover from a leg muscle strain that forced him to come off in last weekend’s 4-0 win over Siena.

Nesta has frequently been described as Milan’s best close season “acquisition” after returning from a career-threatening back injury to help make up for the loss of retired captain Paolo Maldini this season.

The understanding the former Italy international has developed with Brazilian center back Thiago Silva has been fundamental to Milan’s strong revival from a shaky start, which included a 4-0 defeat to Inter in the early season fixture.

Milan also has other injury problems, but Nesta’s fitness seems to be their biggest concern given his influence and the cover they have in other areas.

“Nesta is much more than just a player,” Gennaro Gattuso was quoted as saying by Thursday’s La Gazzetta dello Sport.

Brazilian forward Alexandre Pato has failed to shake off a thigh problem, which means David Beckham is likely to continue to deputize on the right of a front three even if Clarence Seedorf regains fitness.

Mathieu Flamini has a knock and Gianluca Zambrotta told reporters on Thursday he will not have recovered from a calf problem in time to play today.

Inter coach Jose Mourinho is concerned about his midfield, as Thiago Motta and Dejan Stankovic are injury doubts and Sulley Muntari pulled up in training with a thigh problem on Wednesday.

Mourinho joked that the Italian league should postpone the match because of these injuries after Milan managed to get a fixture rescheduled, irritating Inter and adding an extra dimension to the usual heated rivalry ahead of a San Siro derby.

Milan had its Italian Cup quarterfinal against Udinese moved to Jan. 27, just a day before Inter face Juventus in the Cup on the same pitch, so it would have a free week before the derby like its city rival.

 
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