Milan midfielder Ismael Bennacer returned to Milanello at the beginning of this week to begin the final stage of his rehabilitation process following the serious knee injury he picked up during the first leg of the Champions League semi-final against Inter in May.
The Algeria international required surgery to repair the lesion of the cartilage in his knee and was expected to be sidelined for a minimum of six months, although that timeline later increased.
Bennacer has not been based solely in Milan during his recovery process, having been under the care of specialists in France, Algeria, Morocco and Qatar, but now, he is back in the building with the rest of the squad.
It is expected that Bennacer will still need some more time before he is to take to the field again, with several weeks of further rehab required before he is able to begin training.
Reports from Tuttosport on Tuesday morning suggest that an optimistic return date would be midway through December, however, it is possible that a January come-back is a more likely scenario.
Meanwhile, coach Stefano Pioli hinted in his recent press conference that he is looking forward to being able to deploy his ‘ideal’ midfield, which would include Bennacer alongside summer recruits Tijjani Reijnders and Ruben Loftus-Cheek.