FILE PHOTO: Soccer Football - Champions League - AC Milan v Crvena Zvezda - San Siro, Milan, Italy - December 11, 2024 AC Milan coach Paulo Fonseca during the match REUTERS/Daniele Mascolo/File Photo
(Reuters) - Injury issues continue to plague AC Milan with leading scorer Christian Pulisic now out of Sunday's Serie A clash against AS Roma after a setback during his recovery, coach Paulo Fonseca said.
However, eighth-placed Milan, who were missing eight players when they beat Verona 1-0 on Dec. 20, are expecting forward Alvaro Morata to return to the squad, Fonseca told reporters on Saturday.
"I expected to have Pulisic. He is fine, he has recovered from his calf problem, but in the last two days he has had an ankle problem," the coach said about the U.S. international.
"It has arisen in the recovery process and he is not ready to play tomorrow, not even for the bench."
Fonseca said while Morata and Ismael Bennacer were doing well, English midfielder Ruben Loftus-Cheek would only be back next week, with Yunus Musah and Rafael Leao trying to be fit for next Friday's Italian Super Cup clash with Juventus.
"We'll have eleven anyway," the 51-year-old added.
Fonseca, who previously coached Roma for two years, said it would be special to face his former club.
"Roma is a great club, they have a great team... I have many friends there," he said. "But... in the 90 minutes I only have the thought of winning."
Milan, who have 26 points from 16 matches, are five points behind the top five, with frustrated fans booing their performance earlier this month. Fonseca said it was too early to write his team off.
"The mood is good. I can't be more positive after the last training sessions," he added.
(Reporting by Chiranjit Ojha in Bengaluru; Editing by Christian Radnedge)
