AC Milan will make a late call on Rafael Leao‘s participation in their Champions League semifinal first leg against arch-rivals Inter Milan, manager Stefano Pioli said on Tuesday after the Portuguese winger suffered a muscle injury.
Leao has been one of Milan’s most influential players this season with 13 goals and 10 assists in all competitions, but he lasted only 12 minutes of Saturday’s 2-0 win over Lazio before being taken off.
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Pioli said Leao would either start the game or not play at all, adding that Belgian winger Alexis Saelemaekers was a potential replacement for Wednesday’s match at the San Siro.
“Today he [Leao] trained, tomorrow I will decide what to do,” Pioli told reporters, adding that he was not stressing over the 23-year-old’s fitness.
“I’m going to bed quietly tonight, anyway in the morning Rafa and the doctor will tell me his condition. If he is well he will be called up, otherwise not.
“If the test is clean he can play. If it is not clean he cannot play — either from the start or the end. I would have preferred to do it today, but it was not possible.”
