Milan and Roma will welcome back two midfielders from international duties earlier than expected, as Algeria have been eliminated from AFCON in the group stage, which means that Ismael Bennacer and Houssem Aouar will head back later this week, SportMediaset informs.
The Greens have collected just two points in Group D. They finished in last place behind Angola, Burkina Faso, and Mauritania, which upset them on the final match day. Lecce’s Ahmed Touba was also part of their squad.
Aouar had missed time with a thigh strain before departing from AFCON, while Bennacer didn’t play in the last game due to a flexor problem. According to Tuttomercatoweb, Milan have been in touch with their star, and the issue isn’t worrisome. He’ll be further assessed upon his return.
The Roma newcomer didn’t have a regular role under José Mourinho. He will look to win over Daniele De Rossi in the coming weeks. He has tallied 15 appearances for a total of 762 minutes, scoring twice. The Milan ace missed most of the season to rehab after a knee cartilage lesion.
Napoli are set to have back one of their stars next week. Nigeria’s Victor Osimhen and Frank Anguissa’s Cameroon will square off in the Round of 16 on Saturday.
Our Take on Aouar and Bennacer
It’ll be interesting to see whether De Rossi will deploy him as a no.10, which he often did with Lyon, since they are in decent shape in the midfield but very thin there.
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