Poli: “I feel fine, we want to get a result against Udinese”

ANDREA POLI hopes to be ready for the Udinese game while Urby Emanuelson thinks Milan were unlucky against Juve.

Clarence Seedorf has yet to beat a big team losing to Napoli, Atletico Madrid and Juventus but many would argue that the Rossoneri deserved a lot more against Atleti and Juve; Milan played well in those matches but just failed to score.

Andrea Poli had some big misses in those two games but overall his performances were positive and he hopes to be able to be fit for the Udinese game on Saturday after picking up an injury on Sunday when Milan played the Bianconeri.

Highlights: Milan 0-2 Juventus
Milan-Juventus: Official line-ups

“I feel fine. It was a hard knock but luckily I didn’t lose consciousness. I’m getting better and we’ll see how the situation evolves day by day,” Poli told the Milan Channel on Wednesday. “It was a hard knock like I said but we’re confident that I’ll be back playing soon. I actually fractured my finger when I fell which I didn’t even realize at the time. These things happen.

“I want to get back quick. And we’ll be looking at things day by day with the medical staff. Now there’s the match against Udinese which is an important match and we want to go into it in the best way possible. I’ll be trying to get back for the match on Saturday and for the game against Atletico Madrid (on March 11). All the messages I’ve got have been very encouraging. Since I’ve been here, I’ve always felt the closeness of the fans; it’s something that’s a real source of pleasure.

“It was emotional to play at the Marassi stadium, a place where I spent important years in terms of my development. The fans welcomed me very well and it’s an emotion that I’ll always carry inside of me. I’m playing in what’s a new position for me. I feel good and I feel I can play an important role for the team. We want to continue improving. This is an important week for us. Udinese are a tough team to face in their stadium, even in the difficult moments but we want to get a result. Against Atletico, it’ll be a great game and we want to get into the next round. We showed in the first leg that we can do it.”

Poli remains in doubt for the game, same as Balotelli who is still feeling pain in his shoulder. Urby Emanuelson, however, is ready to play and he also got some rest this week as he wasn’t included in Holland’s squad for their friendly with France.

“We played a great first-half against Juve. We created lots of chances, we were just missing a goal,” Urby said yesterday. “We conceded in the last minute and that complicated matters. In the changing rooms we were disappointed because we played a great first-half but let in a goal. I’m happy with how the team played, but we lost 2-0 and it’s not a good result.

“We tried to do everything possible to win, but we were lacking a bit of luck. We’re working well in training just like in the matches. We need results like the one we got against Sampdoria to gain increased confidence. I think the team is at ease and wants to win matches. Udinese and Atletico will be important matches.” Emanuelson is expected to play both games in the left back position with Mattia De Sciglio (or Ignazio Abate, alternatively) starting on the opposite side of the defense.

This is an international week so Abate, De Sciglio, Riccardo Montolivo, Kevin Constant, Valter Birsa, Adel Taarabt, Michael Essien, Sulley Muntari and Cristian Zapata will return to training tomorrow, while Keisuke Honda will be back on Friday.