Inter Milan’s interim coach, Cristian Chivu, announced that Alessandro Bastoni will not be available for their upcoming Serie A fixture against Cagliari. Chivu stated that the defender is “not well.”
Bastoni will be absent from the match against Cagliari at the Stadio Meazza. Chivu confirmed this decision during a press conference, highlighting Bastoni’s commitment despite facing physical and mental challenges.
“He should be praised as a person, despite physical and mental difficulties. He put himself on the line and deserves credit,” Chivu remarked.
“We should be proud of what he has done. He has a physical problem; his ankle is not 100%. He’s trained very little in the last month, and he’s not fully fit. We thank him for his availability, but he’s not well now. He’ll not be in the squad tomorrow. He will stay out to recover.”
Bastoni has faced recent criticism following a red card in the Inter-Juventus match and another in Italy’s World Cup play-off Final against Bosnia and Herzegovina.
In other team news, Petar Sucic is suspended for the Cagliari game. Yann Bisseck and Lautaro Martinez are also currently injured.
“Bisseck has already worked on the pitch. According to the expected timeline, Lauti is on track,” Chivu reported regarding the injured players.
“Next week, he will return to the pitch to do a bit more than what he’s currently doing. Bisseck should be back in two days, Lautaro in seven or eight. He is improving and doing well.”
Inter currently leads Serie A by nine points, ahead of second-placed Napoli. Their next match after Cagliari is a Coppa Italia semifinal second leg at home against Como.
“We must be proud of what we’ve done and keep the same spirit. We must try to be the best version of ourselves and add three more points to the table,” Chivu emphasized.
“We’ve always tried to bring it to the pitch. The important thing is to be mentally and physically ready, and to adapt to what the opponent offers. We’ve had ups and downs. We’ve done really well in some games and not so well in others because of a lack of energy and the absence of players who would have shifted the balance.”
Chivu also addressed comments made after a recent victory against Como, where he appeared to downplay Inter’s Scudetto ambitions by focusing on Champions League qualification. He stated that his remarks were taken too seriously and that football should be treated as a game.
“Too many things are taken too seriously,” he argued.
“Many things are distorted by friendship and by the duty to defend one side or the other. Some people took it too seriously. You have to understand. Football is a game; it should be treated as such. There are teams that try to win, but only one wins. You shouldn’t feel bad if your friend or your favourite team doesn’t make it to the end.”
