Pioli confirms ‘Ibrahimovic won’t be there’ against Empoli

Stefano Pioli has confirmed that veteran striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic will miss Milan’s match against Empoli tomorrow.

The 40-year-old Swedish forward has been ruled out of the match due to a knee injury, further reducing Pioli’s options up front for tomorrow’s match against the Tuscan side.

Speaking to gathered reporters in a press conference earlier today, the Italian coach highlighted that both Ibrahimovic and Rafael Leao will be absent. ‘He won’t be there tomorrow, he’ll be back against Roma. Ibrahimovic won’t be there tomorrow because of an overload on his knee.’ He said.

Things were more positive regarding captain Alessio Romagnoli. ‘He’s fine mentally and physically. He’s a strong player.’

Pioli noted the importance of on-loan full back Alessandro Florenzi, detailing how ‘he’s a very useful player, he’s intelligent, he’s also doing well physically. He’s an important player who can give us a big hand.’

The Milan coach confirmed that Theo Hernandez is feeling better now and suggested that he’ll feature against Empoli. ‘Theo has become more complete, now he does the defensive phase better too. He gives us a lot on the attacking side. He’s better, I hope he’ll be in top condition tomorrow.’

The Rossoneri are currently in the midst of an injury crisis, with six players now out – Simon Kjaer, Davide Calabria, Ante Rebic, Leao, Pietro Pellegri and now Ibrahimovic all sidelined. Pioli will have to tinker with his squad a little in order to find the right line-up to face Empoli in the team’s final game of 2021.

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