Milan’s defence in full crisis mode for Monza game

Milan are preparing for the upcoming Serie A game with Monza, but have just three first-team defenders available so Jan-Carlo Simic or Davide Bartesaghi are expected to start against Monza on Sunday.

The Rossoneri returned from Newcastle on Thursday morning and most players enjoyed a day off. They will return to Milanello today, Friday, December 15, reports Friday’s printed edition of La Gazzetta dello Sport on page 10.

Milan host Monza at San Siro on Sunday, but coach Stefano Pioli must cope without many absentees in defence.

Simon Kjaer, Pierre Kalulu, Malick Thiaw, Mattia Caldara and Marco Pellegrino are injured and won’t recover for the next Serie A fixture, while Davide Calabria is suspended after receiving a red card against Atalanta last week.

This means Fikayo Tomori, Theo Hernandez and Alessandro Florenzi will be the only defenders available for the Rossoneri on Sunday, so Simic or Bartesaghi are expected to start against the Brianzoli.

Both players have temporarily been promoted to the senior team from Primavera. Simic was expected to start as a centre-back against Frosinone two weeks ago, but Pioli eventually picked Theo in central defence.

Bartesaghi is a natural left-back who can also play in central defence, but if Pioli picks the 17-year-old against Monza, he will likely play on the left with Theo deployed as a centre-back.