Milan could drop Leao in Champions League even if Fonseca says ‘he’s fine’ | OneFootball

Reports on Monday evening suggest that Milan could drop Rafael Leao to the bench for Tuesday’s Champions League game away against Slovan Bratislava, even though Paulo Fonseca said that ‘he’s fine’ during his pre-match press conference.

Reports Milan could drop Leao in Champions League

According to multiple outlets in Italy, Milan could rest Leao for their away day in Slovakia, and could replace him with Noah Okafor. Christian Pulisic and Samuel Chukwueze are also expected to start, as is Tammy Abraham who took part in the pre-match media duties.

Fonseca was unwilling to give away too many clues about his starting XI against Slovan Bratislava, hinting that Leao ‘might or might not play’.

CAGLIARI, ITALY – NOVEMBER 09: Rafael Leao of Milan celebrates teams second goal (1-2) during the Serie A match between Cagliari and AC Milan at Sardegna Arena on November 09, 2024 in Cagliari, Italy. (Photo by Enrico Locci/Getty Images)

“I don’t know, we’ll see tomorrow. Rafa is fine, I have faith in all my players. I will obviously put out a team that can win. It’s a possibility that Leao won’t play, it’s also possible that he will,” the coach said during his chat with the media.

Milan are currently 20th in the Champions League standings, and must finish in the top 24 if they are to qualify for the knock-out round play-off. Only the teams in the top eight will qualify for the round of 16 automatically.

The Rossoneri have two wins and two losses from the first half of their league phase matches, which included back-to-back losses against Liverpool and Bayer Leverkusen, but they have since bounced back with consecutive wins against Club Brugge and Real Madrid.