Vincenzo Italiano ready to launch new arrival

Josip Brekalo slowly moving toward full recovery

Having arrived at the end of January from Wolfsburg for just €1.5 million (the player had a contract expiring with Wolfsburg in June 2023), Josip Brekalo has practically never been employed by coach Vincenzo Italiano, except for a small appearance in the league match against Bologna, when the Croatian played 18 minutes. ‘Blame’ for a delay in condition, but also some physical discomfort.

On the eve of the Conference League return match against Sporting Braga (a formality for the purple team, after the 0-4 in Portugal), the coach of the Tuscans spoke about the player’s recovery time.

“Brekalo came on the field with Bologna in the last half hour, we wanted to give him minute and continuity right away because he was lagging behind after a period in which he trained separately. Then he stopped because he was not in condition, and he had muscle problems. Now he has done 3-4 days at high intensity and he is an extra arrow to our bow,” Italiano began. “When he is able to have a certain level of intensity he can play 20 minutes or one half. We all wanted to get him into the same condition as the others right away, but it was not possible. We will do it now, slowly,” the coach concluded.