Pato out and he may also miss Arsenal clash
Reuters - Friday 20 January 2012, 12:03
Brief news ahead of this weekend's
Serie A matches.
AC Milan striker Alexandre Pato is definitely out of
Sunday's trip to Novara and could miss the home leg of their
Champions League last 16 tie against Arsenal on February 15 after
picking up a thigh strain in Wednesday's 2-1 win over Novara in
the Coppa Italia.
"The prognosis is that he will be out for three to
four weeks, barring complications," read a statement on the club
website.
Pato, who scored the midweek winner as the Rossoneri
progressed to the quarter-finals, joins Kevin-Prince Boateng on
the treatment table after the Ghanaian midfielder sustained a
similar injury in last weekend's derby defeat by Inter.
Second-placed Milan reacted to the growing injury list on
Thursday by signing Algerian winger Djamel Mesbah from Lecce on
a four-and-a-half year deal.
The champions, already missing Antonio Cassano, Alberto
Aquilani and Gennaro Gattuso, are also without goalkeeper
Christian Abbiati for Sunday's trip to the bottom club.
Eighth-placed Genoa have underlined their ambition by
re-signing former forward Giuseppe Sculli from Lazio having
brought in Alberto Gilardino earlier in January's transfer
window.
"I'm happy to be back. It's like coming home," 30-year-old
Sculli, who was a Rossoblu from 2006-11, told the club website.
Genoa, who were knocked out of the Coppa Italia by Inter
Milan on Thursday, have loaned German midfielder Alexander
Merkel back to AC Milan for the rest of the season but have
another new recruit, Davide Biondini, fit for Sunday's trip to
Palermo.
In-form Inter look set to be without forward Diego Forlan
for Sunday's visit of Lazio.
The Uruguayan, who has started just six matches since
joining from Atletico Madrid in August, pulled out of Thursday's
2-1 win over Genoa in the Coppa Italia after struggling with a
muscle injury.
Inter, who have won their last six Serie A matches, will
leapfrog fourth-placed Lazio should they win at the San Siro.
Struggling Fiorentina will need to shed "blood and tears"
for the rest of the season, coach Delio Rossi said after
hundreds of Viola fans called for change following last Sunday's
1-0 home defeat by then bottom club Lecce.
"We are making moves in the market but we still need to work
harder with the squad we have at the moment," the former Palermo
boss told Italian channel Mediaset Premium. "I think our season
will be one made up of blood and tears."
Fiorentina, who allowed main striker Gilardino to leave for
Genoa, also sold Uruguayan forward Santiago Silva to Boca
Juniors this week but are likely to bring in Juventus striker
Amauri after Sunday's testing trip to Cagliari.
Sixth-placed Napoli could have talismanic forward
Ezequiel Lavezzi back in their starting line-up for Sunday's trip
to lowly Siena.
The Argentine, who has been out for more than a month with a
thigh strain, looks set to come in for Goran Pandev despite the
Macedonian striker's rich vein of form.
Seventh-placed AS Roma will be missing midfielder Daniele
De Rossi for Saturday's visit of Cesena due to a groin
injury.
De Rossi, who this week confirmed he was close to an
agreement over a new contract with the club, is also likely to
miss Tuesday's Coppa Italia quarter-final at Juventus.