Milan midfielder Ruben Loftus-Cheek returned to training with the rest of the first-team group on Thursday, providing a much-needed boost for Stefano Pioli amidst a growing injury list at San Siro.
The Englishman featured in all of the Rossoneri’s first eight matches of the season across all competitions, starting in seven of them, but was forced off early with an adductor injury against Lazio at the end of September.
He has since missed three consecutive matches in Serie A as well as another two in the Champions League.
According to an update from Gianluca Di Marzio on Wednesday, Loftus-Cheek is unlikely to play from the start against Udinese in the league on Sunday, but could target the Champions League clash at home to Paris Saint-Germain on Tuesday instead.
Pioli is expected to manage the 27-year-old’s minutes across the next few matches as a precaution.
Milan are, however, still waiting on the return of Christian Pulisic, who is still working on his recovery in the gym, as well as Samuel Chukwueze and Simon Kjaer, who both carried out individual programmes on the grass.
Defenders Pierre Kalulu and Marco Pellegrino are both expected to be sidelined for a period of several months.