The final blow to an awful evening for Milan against Parma was the serious injury suffered by Loftus-Cheek after a collision with Parma goalkeeper Corvi. The challenge left him with fractures to his upper teeth and to the maxillary alveolar bone. He underwent surgery the following day, and Ruben reassured everyone about his condition through his social media accounts. That does not lessen the severity of the injury or the heavy impact he endured, which will keep him out for at least two months. With any major health concerns now ruled out, we can turn back to football matters, which in situations like this always come second.
Loftus-Cheek is a valued utility man for Allegri:
You will surely remember the praise from coach Allegri in one of his first press conferences of the season about Ruben, describing him as a strong, physically imposing midfielder with a knack for forward runs, from whom he expected a great deal, especially in terms of goals. His Achilles heel has always been fitness. At times the Englishman has seemed unable to fully impose his physical dominance on the pitch, almost as if it were completely muted. Even so, Allegri never stopped believing in him. He deployed him as a wide midfielder, a box to box player, even as a second striker. In short, a versatile option to use wherever needed. He did score three goals, though that was fewer than the coach had hoped for. Allegri often tried to challenge and motivate his number 8. Before Torino versus Milan he said, “Ruben needs to believe even more in the qualities he has. He must be convinced about what he is doing.” Ahead of Milan versus Parma he added, “He has created many chances this season, he could already have scored seven or eight goals," as relayed via Milan News.
Two months out, how can Allegri replace Loftus-Cheek?
The consistency that Allegri had recently begun to give Loftus, with three starts in the last four matches, will now be interrupted for quite some time. So let us look at the different options available to Allegri until his return. First we should divide the two main areas where he played, midfield and attack. In midfield there are several alternatives, from Ricci, who is gaining increasing importance in the Rossoneri rotation, to Fofana, currently the first choice on paper, and Jashari, who replaced him last Sunday and was among the best performers. In that area of the pitch, options are not lacking.
Up front the situation is slightly more complicated, given the recurring physical issues of Pulisic, Leao, and Fullkrug. Nkunku appears to be in the best form, despite starting on the bench against Parma, and after a far from positive start he has become very useful to the team again. Finally, we should not forget Santi Gimenez who, despite being a question mark after a long spell out, is getting closer and closer to a return.
