MilanNews.it correspondent Antonio Vitiello released his latest video on his podcast channel, discussing new developments concerning Milan.

The full content of the video is as follows:

Alexis Saelemaekers' injury shook the Milan circles and Milanello yesterday. This was indeed a very unexpected piece of news for many at Milanello, including the head coach himself. It was quite shocking news, the kind you completely don't anticipate. The reason it was completely unexpected is that the whole situation is very peculiar.

A week ago, Saelemaekers suffered an injury during a routine training session at Milanello, meaning it wasn't even during an international match, but while training at the Rossoneri's training ground. At the time, he underwent medical examinations and various tests, which revealed no new fractures or ligament damage. Therefore, the official club statement at the time indicated it was merely a right ankle sprain. But what happened next? Since it was just an ankle sprain, Saelemaekers began rehabilitation for his ankle during the week, attempting to return to team training within that week.

However, the problem was that the player subsequently experienced very severe pain, so intense that Milan decided to conduct further re-examinations. What did they discover through these new re-examinations? It turned out that this ankle sprain affected the old injury site where he had undergone surgery while playing for Roma in 2024. Due to the involvement of that area, the ankle lost stability, and therefore, a solution is now needed to improve ankle stability.

So, what is the solution? According to what we learned yesterday, a new surgery is currently being favored. A new surgery would mean the potential implantation of a new plate, replacing the old one. However, the problem is that if he undergoes new surgery, Saelemaekers will be out for three to four months, effectively ruling him out for the remainder of the 2026 season. The surgery is expected to take place in the coming days, and they are currently evaluating which specialist will perform it and what specific surgical plan will be adopted.

If Saelemaekers undergoes surgery – and in fact, reports indicate he has already decided to have it – he will be sidelined for at least three months, meaning a return to action won't be considered until January 2027. This means the player will miss all of October, November, and December. Whether he can return to the field in January, be it mid-month or later, remains to be seen.

In any case, this is indeed a very complicated situation for the player, and it's described that he himself is in a state of considerable shock. Because after a supposed ordinary sprain, he himself did not expect such a bad outcome. The problem is that this sprain affected the medial malleolus, thus exposing the instability of the ankle.

Milan also confirmed this via official announcement – which you should have seen yesterday. The announcement stated that the player's right ankle underwent further examination in the area that had previously undergone surgery for a medial malleolus fracture in 2024. Specialized examinations showed that due to trauma during recent training, the ankle lost stability in the area of the previous surgery. Therefore, this trauma sustained in training caused him to lose stability, and a new treatment path is now being evaluated, with surgery currently appearing to be the most appropriate.

I'd also briefly inform you that on the same day, Milan also updated us on Estupiñán's condition, who has a mild strain of the medial collateral ligament in his left knee. Therefore, it is confirmed here that there is a problem with his left knee collateral ligament. This is also not a minor issue for Estupiñán; he cannot return to action immediately, so the situation on the left flank is currently quite serious.

This will certainly provide an opportunity for Davide Bartesaghi, who performed well in previous matches for the Italy U21 national team. It must be said that this player's performance while playing for the national team is indeed better and he appears more confident than when wearing a Milan jersey. Bartesaghi will have an important opportunity, as he will replace Estupiñán.

As for who will replace Saelemaekers, it remains to be seen what tactical strategy Amorim wants to adopt. Because by changing the formation, for example, to a 4-2-3-1, it is very likely that Diego Moreira would play as the left winger in the trio behind the striker. This is somewhat similar to his situation with the Belgian national team, where the new Belgian coach, Mark van Bommel, has consistently deployed Moreira as an attacking midfielder or winger, rather than a central midfielder or defender.

Van Bommel has played him once on the left and twice on the right; although the flank changed, his essential role was that of an attacking winger behind a lone striker, which is a position Moreira can excel in. Therefore, if we envision a 4-2-3-1 formation with four defenders, Bartesaghi could play left-back, with a defensive line-up possibly consisting of Pavlovic, De Winter, and Hila, or Pavlovic, Gabbia, and Hila. The two defensive midfielders could be Rabiot and Modric, while the trio behind the striker could be Pulisic, Cissé, and Diego Moreira.

This could be an idea or hypothesis, but it remains to be seen if Milan's Portuguese coach, Ruben Amorim, decides to adopt this tactical approach when all players return after the international break. Because if it's in a 3-4-2-1 formation, the situation would be different. In that formation, Bartesaghi would need to play in midfield as a wing-back, and perhaps the coach will decide to continue with this approach, which is also possible. The three defenders would remain unchanged: Hila, De Winter, and Pavlovic, while Bartesaghi would be pushed forward to replace Estupiñán, playing as one of the four midfielders.

But in that scenario, where would Diego Moreira be placed? We return to the old problem: if Diego Moreira is asked to play as a wing-back covering the entire flank, whether on the left or right, it might cause tactical difficulties for him. In any case, we now need to see what decision the Rossoneri coach will make. However, Saelemaekers' injury is a significant loss, because although he is often described as playing erratically, he is still a player who can create chaos in the opponent's defense.

I want to conclude this video with an investigative report published this morning by L'Équipe, which concerns the links between Milan and Lille during Elliott Management's tenure. I think these matters have been ongoing for about six years now; recalling the period between 2020 and 2022, there was a possibility of multi-club ownership. According to L'Équipe, it was during that period that Elliott Management exerted influence over both Milan and Lille simultaneously.

According to L'Équipe, the two teams subsequently faced each other in the Europa League and Champions League, which raised some questions. Therefore, L'Équipe once again cast a shadow over Elliott Management and the connection between the French club and Milan between 2020 and 2022, a connection even described as "ambiguous." The report even cited chat logs and emails obtained by the Italian Financial Police, so Elliott Management is once again under close scrutiny.

However, Elliott Management also issued a statement, released almost this morning, reiterating its position. The statement noted that Italian prosecutors have reviewed and evaluated all these materials in their proper context and have already recommended archiving the procedure without bringing any charges.

Elliott Management stated: "We are disappointed, but not surprised, to see certain carefully selected materials made public before we have seen this archiving recommendation submitted to the Italian courts for review. This is most likely an unjustified legal maneuver initiated by a disgruntled opposing party who has been repeatedly frustrated in multiple legal actions. UEFA has previously examined this issue and determined that Elliott did not exercise any control or decisive influence over Lille. Elliott's sole relationship with Lille has always been as a financier. Simply put, these allegations are completely baseless." This concludes Elliott's announcement this morning, aimed at countering these latest allegations, which were even front-page news in French sports newspaper L'Équipe. This is the response from the American firm Elliott Management.

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