AC Milan have a difficult two weeks ahead until the next international break as Stefano Pioli’s midfield has been struck by a major injury. Rade Krunic who is one of the oldest members of the squad and most familiar with Pioli’s tactics is out for at least 10 days with a muscle injury sustained on Saturday against Hellas Verona in the league. He is scheduled for further tests next week and it is currently unclear how long he will be out for.
The Bosnia and Herzegovina international only became a regular starter this season after the departure of Sandro Tonali and the injury of Ismael Bennacer. He has occupied the defensive midfield role where he is tasked with breaking up the play and slotting in as an additional centre back.
One of the major criticisms with the summer marker was the lack of investment in a defensive midfielder as Loftus-Cheek, Reijnders, Musah and Romero are all used to playing further up the pitch and are not defensively disciplined. Pioli has discussed deploying either Reijnders or Adli in this role and he will have to test out a new player in some crucial games over the next two weeks such as Lazio in Serie A and Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League.
