Inter’s Injury List Increases After Coppa Italia Draw But They're Not Alone

Written By Onyeka Daniel

It was an even affair at the Giuseppe Meazza stadium as AC Milan and Inter played out a 1-1 draw in the first leg of their Coppa Italia semi-final encounter, meaning the two teams still have everything to play for in the second leg that is slated for the 23rd of this month.

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For Inter coach, Simone Inzaghi, he felt that going behind ultimately helped Inter in this fixture and revealed further injury issues limiting his choices. Tammy Abraham had put the Rossoneri in front, but Hakan Calhanoglu drilled in low from outside the box to level the tie.

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The later on, Mike Maignan made several big saves. “It was a derby. We could’ve gone in front in the first half with the De Vrij chance and the Frattesi move, then Milan had that incident to give them the lead straight after the restart,” Inzaghi told Sport Mediaset.

“I believe it ultimately helped us, because then our second half performance was better than the first, we created so many scoring opportunities against a Milan side that is tough to play against. “I liked the performance from my players with a lot of sacrifices.”

“There were only 14 outfield players available, because Marko Arnautovic and Federico Dimarco were in no condition to come off the bench. I had some youth team players who were ready, so I asked everyone to push a little harder.” He revealed.

Inter are yet to win a single Derby della Madonnina so far this season, having lost the first two, then twice clawed back a 1-1 draw. “I saw the first goal, there was an incredible ricochet between Thuram and Frattesi, the ball hung in the right place for Abraham and landed at his feet.”

“I got angry at the time, but then I saw what happened on the replay,” continued Inzaghi. “We had so many chances afterwards, Maignan made some excellent saves on Mkhitaryan and Zalewski.” Lautaro Martinez, Mehdi Taremi and Denzel Dumfries were already out of action.

Then Kristjan Asllani was suspended. “We knew that this was only the first leg, we hope to have more choices in three weeks’ time. We will travel to Parma in 48 hours, so we couldn’t take any unnecessary risks with our players.” Inter have an extra two matches to play during that period.

They will face Bayern Munich In Champions League quarter-finals. “We fought so hard to keep everything going in April, we played every match to the full. My dream as a coach is to have all the players available, hopefully Dimarco and Arnautovic can be available.”

“We’re waiting for our captain and Dumfries, then we’ll see what happens,” added Inzaghi, but in a disturbing development for the club, it has now been revealed that Dumfries could remain sidelined longer than expected, posing a major problem.

The team is currently dealing with injuries at a crucial moment in the season, with key games across all competitions coming thick and fast. The new concern is that Dumfries is facing a potential month-long absence, as the initial diagnosis was that it was not a lengthy injury.

It was initially believed that he would be fit in time for the first of two UCL clashes against Bayern Munich on April 8, but the latest reports suggest the 28-year-old recovery from a hamstring injury could take significantly longer, which would be a huge blow for the team.

According to reports from Italy, Inter might have to wait three to four weeks for the Dutch international’s return. This means he could miss the entire two-legged Champions League quarter-final, as well as the crucial Serie A clash against Bologna on Easter Day.

Furthermore, the second leg against Milan is also at risk. If confirmed, his extended absence would be a major blow for Inzaghi, whose only natural replacement in that role is Matteo Darmian—who himself has only recently returned from injury and Nicola Zalewski is also an option.

The January signing usually play on the left, but is right footed, while Inter would be without one of their standout performers this season. With six goals and two assists in 25 Serie A appearances, Dumfries has been a constant threat to opponents down his flank.

In a related development, the German Bundesliga league leaders have reported two more injury concerns as Raphael Guerreiro is currently training individually, while Germany international Leon Goretzka was forced out of training midway through Wednesday’s session.

Bayern will host Inter at the Allianz Arena next week and then they will meet again in San Siro for the second leg a week later on April 16. The winner of the tie will go on to face either Borussia Dortmund or Barcelona in the Champions League semi-finals, but all is not well at the moment.

Vincent Kompany currently has a worrying list of injury concerns to deal with as Alphonso Davies ruptured his cruciate ligament (ACL) while away on international duty with Canada in March and will be out of action until the 2025-26 season.

Centre-back Dayot Upamecano has suffered a knee injury as well, and while less serious than Davies’s, he is also expected to be out for a number of weeks, potentially ruling him out of both legs of the Inter tie. Hiroki Ito, who joined Bayern in the summer is not left out.

He has had a torrid time with injuries since making the move and now has suffered his second metatarsal injury of the season and will also miss the remainder of the 2024-25 campaign. Bayern’s injury list also currently includes goalkeeper Manuel Neuer, Aleksandar Pavlovic and Kingsley Coman.

In another blow for the Bavarians, reports on Wednesday confirmed that Guerreiro, who had been the only fit and available left-back, is now training individually and is now at risk of missing the first leg of the UCL tie against the Nerazzurri.

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He scored during Germany’s recent Nations League quarter-final against Italy and he also had to retire midway through Wednesday’s training session, which puts his availability in doubt as well, but for now, they will prepare to face Augsburg away from home in the league

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