Inter Milan coach Simone Inzaghi is ready to trust midfielder Kristjan Asllani to play in place of the injured Hakan Calhanoglu.
Speaking to Italian broadcaster Sky Sport Italia, via FCInterNews, the coach confirmed that there is every chance that the 21-year-old could start against Real Sociedad in tomorrow evening’s Champions League clash with the Turk out injured.
Calhanoglu will not play any part in tomorrow’s Champions League opener against Real Sociedad for Inter.
The former AC Milan and Bayer Leverkusen midfielder hasn’t travelled with the rest of the squad. He has stayed behind in Milano.
The reason for Calhanoglu’s absence is a muscle problem. Reportedly, the 29-year-old is carrying a minor strain to the adductor muscles in his left thigh.
Positionally, Calhanoglu does have a like-for-like backup option in Inter’s squad.
Asllani, like the Turkish international, is a deep-lying playmaker.
However, there are some questions about whether or not the Albanian international would have the full trust of Inzaghi, particularly in a match of this importance.
Last season, Asllani found playing time relatively hard to come by.
And this time around, as well, the 21-year-old has made only a couple of late substitute appearances.
But according to Inzaghi, he is in fact ready to hand Asllani a starting spot.
Asked if Asllani can play in place of Calhanoglu, Inzaghi replied “Absolutely, yes.”
“I have total trust in Asllani,” he continued.
“He is an to qualityplayer, we had to hold on to him this summer because a number of teams wanted him,” Inzaghi said of the former Empoli midfielder.
He also made clear that “Calhanoglu will not be part of tomorrow’s match. Neither will Cuadrado, Agoume, or Sensi.” As far as Inter’s goal for the Champions League this season, Inzaghi said that “Our goal is to relive the kinds of nights we had last season.”
“We know the journey we went on last season. So we have to keep that in mind.”
“Tomorrow we start things off against a top-class opponent,” Inzaghi noted. He also added that “The enthusiasm from the derby can have a huge impact.”
“We’re coming off the back of a great period of form,” the coach said. “But La Real are a team of top quality. We saw that against Madrid. We have to be organized against them.”