Milan boss Stefano Pioli confirmed on Friday that USMNT winger Christian Pulisic will feature against Fiorentina at the weekend.
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Pulisic to return for MilanUSMNT winger over injuryLeao & Giroud to miss matfchGettyWHAT HAPPENED?
After missing the entirety of the November international break, the USMNT winger is set to return to action for the Italian side. Pulisic went down with an injury against PSG in the UEFA Champions League on November 7, and a little over two weeks on, he's now back and fit for action. However, winger Rafael Leao is set to be sidelined for the match, meaning the American may be moved to the left-side of the pitch to open up options on the right. Meanwhile, striker Olivier Giroud is also suspended for the contest, so there's also the option of playing him through the middle.
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“When a player gets injured, we suffer at Milanello,” Pioli said in a press conference. “We’ve always tried to change something and we are doing anything to improve this situation. We have analyzed all injuries, each player has their own history. Somebody got injured because he played too much, others didn’t play enough."
“National teams are not helping us either. Many other clubs are facing the same situation but of course, the numbers are not positive. We are all working to improve and lower the number of injuries. Pulisic, [Davide] Calabria and [Ruben] Loftus-Cheek will be back [against Fiorentina], [Rafael] Leao, [Simon] Kjaer and [Noah] Okafor won’t be available.”
THE BIGGER PICTURE
The American has been on fire of late for the Rossoneri, and the underlying stats of when he's on the pitch only back that up. When featuring on the scoresheet for Milan, they have not lost once, and have only settled for a draw on a single occasion too. He's net five times since arriving from English Premier League side Chelsea over the summer.
GettyWHAT NEXT FOR PULISIC AND MILAN?
The Rossoneri return to Serie A action on Saturday when they host Fiorentina in a top-half table clash. Third place Milan sit on 23 points while La Viola are on 20; a win would see the latter jump to level on points with Milan, while a win for Pulisic's side would further the gap from those below.