As always, busy times ahead for Serie A medical staff and clinics as they try to help the injured players recover. Let us take a look at who is in and who is out of their team’s XI for the upcoming round.
Inter: Joao Mario is dealing with tonsillities and his status is up in the air, while Eder is a little fatigued after the Coppa Italia game. Neither was expected to start anyway, the doubts are between Roberto Gagliardini and Marcelo Brozovic in the midfield and who is starting at left back.
Napoli: the recoveries of Arek Milik and Faouzi Ghoulam are going well, but it will be a while before they will see the pitch. Lorenzo Insigne has resumed practicing with the rest of the group and could return after missing time with a groin injury, otherwise Piotr Zielinski will continue to start in the trident. Nikola Maksimovic is out with the flu.
Juventus: a pulled calf is set to keep Gianluigi Buffon sidelined and Giorgio Chiellini is set to join him due to a thigh issue. Both are being spared for next week’s big match against Roma. Juan Cuadrado has a sore groin, so Douglas Costa is the favourite to start on the right flank. Miralem Pjanic has recovered, but it is not a given that he will play. Benedikt Howedes will return in 2018.
Roma: Gregoire Defrel remains out with a bone bruise in the knee, while there is a long road ahead for Rick Karsdorp. Diego Perotti is good to go, while Radja Nainggolan could be held out because he is one yellow card away from disqualification and they have a reliable replacement in Lorenzo Pellegrini.
Lazio: Ciro Immobile is suspended, Luis Alberto is questionable due to some muscle fatigue, but there is optimism here. The recovery of Luis Nani from a hamstring strain is uncertain, so Filippo Inzaghi will have very limited options upfront. Davide Di Gennaro could return in the squad list after missing about a month.
Sampdoria: Fabio Quagliarella missed the Coppa Italia match, but it should not be anything too serious. Gianluca Caprari would replace him if he could not play. Karol Linetty remains out with a hamstring injury.
Milan: Hakan Calhanoglu has started working regularly with the group after a calf strain, so he could be called up, but he is unlikely to start. Marco Storari is dealing with a similar ailment. Andrea Conti will be out for a while with an ACL tear.
Atalanta: no injury concerns for Gian Piero Gasperini, but Marten De Roon is suspended, so it will likely be Remo Freuler-Bryan Cristante in the midfield and Josip Ilicic as no.10.
Torino: Mbaye Niang has recovered from some knee soreness and will challenge Alex Berenguer and Adem Ljajic to start on the left wing, as the Serbia butted heads with Sinisa Mihajlovic. Cristian Ansaldi will be out for at least one a couple of more weeks.
Fiorentina: Gil Dias has a bruised foot and might not make it, but no issues for the regular starters.
Bologna: Rodrigo Palacio has a hamstring contracture and he is questionable for the game against Juventus: Orji Okwonko and Ladislav Krejci will battle it out to start. Federico Di Francesco will return in January. Ibrahima Mbaye missed the last game but he is said to be healthy now, so he should supplant either Vassilis Torosidis or Adam Masina.
Chievo: Massimo Gobbi was a late scratch last week, but he should play in this one. They will also get back Perparim Hetemaj and Nicola Rigoni, leaving Lucas Castro as the only injured player.
Udinese: Samir and Gabriele Angella are on the shelf because of hamstring injuries, so Jens Stryger Larsen and Bram Nuytinck will continue to see minutes in the backline. Kevin Lasagna and Stipe Perica are dealing with smaller issues and could recover, but if they do not, Rodrigo De Paul will be featured in the attack.
Cagliari: Rafael, Paolo Faragò, Daniele Dessena and Luca Ceppitelli got hurt in the last game, but their problems are not considered too serious. Faragò is the most at risk, so Gregory Van der Wiel could get a start. Dessena was filling in for Nicolò Barella, while Ceppitelli could cede his spot to Fabio Pisacane.
Sassuolo: Stefano Sensi, Claud Adjapong, Timo Letschert and Cristian Dell’Orco are nursing lengthy injuries, while basically their whole midfield, Davide Biondini, Francesco Cassata and Luca Mazzitelli, is dealing with nagging problems. Alfred Duncan probably does not have 90 minutes in his legs after a severe ankle sprain.
Genoa: the only absentee is Pietro Pellegri due to some adductor soreness, but he will not miss much more time.
Crotone: Oliver Kragl returned in the last game after a meniscus tear, while Stefan Simic risks missing time with hamstring tendinitis. The statuses of Mariano Izco and Andrea Nalini are murky due to muscular injuries. Marco Tumminello is out until the Spring.
Spal: Marco Borriello and Felipe are experiencing back pain and have been limited all week, paving the way into the XI for Mirco Antenucci and Michele Cremonesi or Sauli Vaisanen. Filippo Costa remains out with a hamstring edema. Pa Konate (foot fracture) and Fabio Della Giovanna (sports hernia) will be sidelined for the foreseeable future. Alex Meret should be back fairly soon after missing every game so far.
Verona: Mohamed Fares suffered a MCL sprain against Milan and will be out for about a month, Samuel Souprayen is set to take his place. Mattia Zaccagni, Matteo Bianchetti and Nicolò Cherubin are resolving long-term problems.
Benevento: they have lost Luca Antei basically for the rest of the year as the defender was forced to undergo surgery to remove a Haglund heel and repair the Achilles tendon. Pietro Iemmello and Acraf Lazaar are at least one week away from returning from their knee injuries.
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