Soccer Football - Serie A - AC Milan v Torino - San Siro, Milan, Italy - August 17, 2024 AC Milan's Noah Okafor celebrates scoring their second goal REUTERS/Daniele Mascolo
(Reuters) - Noah Okafor is set to start up front for AC Milan in their Serie A game against Parma after the injury to Alvaro Morata, manager Paulo Fonseca said on Friday.
Morata, who joined Milan in July, came off the bench to score on his debut in the 2-2 draw with Torino last weekend, but is expected to be out for at least three weeks with a thigh injury.
Okafor also came on as a substitute and scored the equaliser as Milan came back from two goals down, and the Swiss forward has earned himself a starting place for Saturday's trip to Parma, with Luka Jovic dropping to the bench.
"I have to be honest, Okafor will play tomorrow," Fonseca told a press conference.
"It will be a different game than the first one. We want to have the capacity to play higher compared to the game with Torino.
"During the week, Okafor responded well and the characteristics of the match suit his qualities. Luka could be useful later in the game."
Morata had been struggling with a muscular problem when he arrived at Milan after captaining Spain to their Euro 2024 win.
"He wanted to play, but together with my staff, we understood that it would be risky," Fonseca said. "He told us he was fine. It's a problem when players arrive late and we need to play them, but I believe we handled the situation well."
Another option up front could have been 16-year-old Francesco Camarda, who last year became the youngest-ever player in Serie A, at 15 years, eight months and 15 days old.
"No, he won't be with us. Our youngsters have quality, we have to choose the right moment to play them," Fonseca said.
"This is not the time to create this pressure for young players. They are working close to us, when there is the chance and the right time we will let them play."
(Reporting by Trevor Stynes, editing by Ed Osmond)
