Inter Milan sweating on key duo's fitness
Simone Inzaghi is hopeful that defensive duo Matteo Darmian and Stefan de Vrij will be available for Inter Milan's Serie A clash with Como on Tuesday (AEDT).
The pair picked up injuries in training leading up to its encounter with Cesc Fabregas' side, having deputised at the back amid an injury crisis for the defending champion.
Inter is also without Francesco Acerbi and Benjamin Pavard due to hamstring issues, but that has not been a problem for the Nerazzurri in recent weeks.
This season, only Napoli, Juventus (both 12) and Fiorentina (11) have conceded fewer goals than Inter (15), which sits third in the Serie A standings.
“We’re dealing with a few absences in defence. Pavard and Acerbi are unavailable, and today De Vrij and Darmian also had issues," Inzaghi said.
"We will evaluate with the medical staff in the morning to see if they're fit; as of now, they're not. But we're hopeful we can ask them to make some sacrifices.
"At present, we hope to have Acerbi and Pavard return as soon as possible."
The Como contest will be the first time the two sides have faced off in Serie A since March 2003, with Inter winning 4-0 under Hector Cuper.
After home triumphs over Atalanta and Hellas Verona in September, Como endured a nine-match winless streak before beating Roma last time out.
Como is now unbeaten in its past three league games, but has never managed to go four games in a row without defeat in a Serie A season.
And despite sitting 15th in the table heading into this fixture, Inzaghi sang the praises of his opposite number.
"I like Fabregas a lot. His principles are clear, and his team plays high-quality football," Inzaghi said.
"I already followed him in Serie B last year and this year in Serie A, they’ve competed strongly against top teams. Como is a side with great quality and always plays to win."
Inzaghi said that his side is looking to end its Scudetto-winning year on a high.
"We're seeing the difficulty of a league where all the teams are running and there's a lot of competition," he added.
"We know we’ll have to step up because next year won't be like this year, it will be a different battle."
