Inter Milan Coach Simone Inzaghi: “Hope To Have Milan Skriniar Back After Spezia Clash” | OneFootball

Inter head coach Simone Inzaghi is hoping that it won’t be long after tomorrow’s Serie A match against Spezia that defender Milan Skrinari will be able to return to action.

Speaking to InterTV ahead of tomorrow evening’s match, via FCInterNews, the coach gave an update on the 28-year-old’s fitness, and also gave his thoughts ahead of the match.

Skriniar has missed Inter’s Serie A matches against Bologna and Lecce through a back injury, and the Slovakian will also be out of tomorrow’s match.

It is not yet certain whether or not the former Sampdoria defender will be back in time for clashes with Porto and Juventus before the international break, although his coach is hoping for it.

On the fitness of the players in the squad, the coach said that “Dimarco is fit, he’ll be called up, Correa worked partially with the rest of the group, but he won’t make the trip to La Spezia with the rest of us.”

Inzaghi noted that “Unfortunately, Skriniar is still not fit, but we hope that when we’re back from La Spezia on Saturday, he’ll already be ready to partially return to training with us.”

Of the impact of having Matteo Darmian available to fill in whilst Skriniar is injured, Inzaghi said that “They’re both top players, absolutely exemplary professionals.”

“Clearly each player brings their own particular qualities to the team, right now I’m lucky to have Darmian and D’Ambrosio available who are both doing well in training.”

“We’re finding the best way to make up for the absence of Skriniar,” the coach added.

Asked if last Sunday’s Serie A win over Lecce was a reaction to the previous weekend’s loss away to Bologna, Inzaghi replied “Absolutely, yes, we reacted well by playing a great match against Lecce.”

“Now we have to keep that up, maintaining the same level of determination the whole way, starting with tomorrow’s match in La Spezia.”

Of tomorrow’s match away to relegation-battling Spezia, Inzaghi predicted that “I’m certainly expecting a difficult match tomorrow against a team who’re fighting for a very specific goal, and who’ve recently changed coaches.”

“Spezia come into the match off the back of two consecutive draws, they deserved those points, and clearly so we have to interpret the match the right way, getting the simple things right,” he continued.

Of the form of striker Romelu Lukaku, Inzaghi said that “We know his worth as a player, he’s still getting back to his best after a difficult period for him.”

“Now the signs from him are very positive, he’s giving his all in training every day, he’s already scored a very important goal for us against Porto.”

“We want him to keep improving his condition so that he can help us to win matches,” Inzaghi added of the Belgian.

Asked about the criticism that he is too attached to the 3-5-2 formation and has no real Plan B, Inzaghi replied that “Initially in my career and also in my first year at the senior level, I played with a different formation.”

“Now here at Inter, and also in recent season at Lazio, in my opinion this has been the right system of play for the characteristics that my players have, and we’ve achieved some great results, but I can always change during matches, perhaps by adding an extra attacker.”

“One match at a time I’ll try and get my decisions right,” the coach noted.

Of the relatively limited playing time for midfield duo Kristjan Asllani and Roberto Gagliardini in recent matches, Inzaghi said that “We have a lot of matches between now and the end of the season.”

“Gagliardini and Asllani are both excellent players, and they’re working well in training on a daily basis,” he continued.

“With Brozovic’s return, there are even more options in the rotation, but both will be precious resources for us between now and the end of the season,” the coach said.

And of the form and fitness of midfielder Marcelo Brozovic, Inzaghi stated that “He’s working very well in training, I’m satisfied with his progress.”

“He did very well coming on as a substitute against Porto and then against Lecce, his condition will only continue to improve one day at a time and then he can get back to being the player we all know he’s capable of being,” he added.