AC Milan’s injury woes continue, with leading scorer Christian Pulisic ruled out of Sunday's Serie A clash against AS Roma after a setback during his recovery, coach Paulo Fonseca confirmed.
Milan, who secured a hard-fought 1-0 win against Verona on December 20 while missing eight players, are expecting forward Alvaro Morata to return to the squad, Fonseca told reporters on Saturday.
"I expected to have Pulisic. He is fine, he has recovered from his calf problem, but in the last two days he has had an ankle problem," the coach said about the U.S. international.
Fonseca acknowledged Milan’s sluggish first half, attributing it to the numerous injuries and the recent dip in form.
"The first half was somewhat inevitable with so many players missing and not winning the most recent match, so we were sluggish," Fonseca told.
Despite the challenges, Fonseca expressed satisfaction with the result.
"Without so many players at the moment and our current form, I am satisfied with the victory, which was the most important thing. It was a much-deserved win, we kept a clean sheet and showed more stability in defence."
Milan dominated possession, enjoying 65% of the ball throughout the match.
"It's true that we did not allow Verona much and dominated possession, but without being aggressive in the final third," he said.
"We made too many wrong decisions, that is also down to a lack of confidence, because we had the ball so often near the penalty area and should’ve done better," he added.
Fonseca also provided an update on Rafael Leao, who limped off in the first half.
"I spoke to Rafa (Leao), it doesn’t seem to be anything particularly special. It’s nothing major," the coach assured.
