Milan Striker Edging Closer to Recovery Ahead of Atalanta Clash | OneFootball

Milan striker Santiago Gimenez is on the verge of full recovery after being omitted from the squad for Friday’s match against Udinese. According to Gazzetta dello Sport via MilanNews, the Mexico international will likely be at Sergio Conceicao’s disposal for next weekend’s clash against Atalanta.

Gimenez joined Milan from Feyenoord in January for a reported fee of €32 million. After a hugely successful spell in the Eredivisie, the 23-year-old was supposed to be the new leader of the ambitious Rossoneri project. However, he has endured a rough start to life in Serie A.

Despite scoring on his Milan debut and finding the net in his two Serie A appearances, Gimenez has since struggled to replicate his Feyenoord form. Indeed, he has gone seven league matches without scoring, even though Conceicao often preferred him over Tammy Abraham and Luka Jovic.

On top of his form issues, Gimenez slumped to injury in a 2-2 draw against Fiorentina last weekend. Therefore, Conceicao left him out of his matchday squad this week as Milan ran riot at the Bluenergy Stadium to dismantle mid-table Udinese 4-0.

However, Gimenez should return to the fold by the time Atalanta roll into town to take on Milan in a decisive league fixture. More importantly, the Mexican center-forward should be ready for the return leg of a heavyweight Coppa Italia semi-final tie against Inter.

With Milan lagging well behind in the top-six race, lifting the cup trophy seems like the club’s best chance of securing European football.