Maignan expected to be out for a month due to a calf injury, Tătăruşanu could replace him in the UCL squad

Mike Maignan suffered an injury while on international duty and the fear that he could miss over 4 weeks of action.

The international break has not been kind to Milan in terms of injuries and two nights ago at Stade de France when France took on Austria, they saw goalkeeper Maignan leave the pitch already after 45 minutes through injury.

As reported by French media (L’Equipe and Le Parisien) and then confirmed by the Italian media (Milannews.it, Gazzetta dello Sport among others), the injury of Maignan is quite serious, so much so that there’s fear he will miss 3-4 weeks of action.

Mike suffered an injury to the medial twin muscle of his left calf. He should be in Milano today at the disposal of club doctor Stefano Mazzoni, who will try to establish more precisely the extent of the injury. The media talks about a month of stop, in which Stefano Pioli will need to find solutions.

Maignan has already shown in the past that he can recover quickly: last season in mid-October he underwent wrist surgery and was supposed to be out for months – but instead he returned by the end of November. This time, however, the club, as reported by La Gazzetta, calls for caution as the calf is a delicate muscle and he will be given time to properly recover and heal.

In the next month, Milan have games against Empoli (October 1), Chelsea (October 5 & October 11), Juventus (October 8), Verona (October 16) and Monza (October 22). Maignan’s injury therefore leaves Milan looking at the bench, where they have Ciprian Tătăruşanu.

Tătăruşanu was not originally included in the squad for the Champions League, instead of him (due to UEFA limitations) Antonio Mirante was included, with young Andreas Jungdal inserted in list B. However, article 46.2 of the UEFA regulations allows Milan to replace a goalkeeper in the list in case he is out for 30 days or more; therefore, Tătăruşanu is expected to replace Maignan for 30 days.

This change would allow Tătă to play the games against Chelsea, with Maignan returning for the away game against Dinamo Zagreb on October 25. Ciprian proved reliable last season when he stepped in for Maignan, as apart from the Fiorentina horror show he generally did quite well.

Maignan’s absence will weigh heavily of Milan, as in addition to his exceptional goalkeeping qualities, he’s also a leader on and off the pitch. However, now it’s time for Tătăruşanu to shine.