Inter, yet another injury: When will Pavard return? His condition

Injury crisis at Inter. After losing Stones, Jones, and Lautaro Martinez in quick succession, Nerazzurri coach Cristian Chivu must now also do without Benjamin Pavard, who will be out for at least the next three weeks.

The French defender suffered a muscle injury during training and underwent tests that confirmed the problem: “Benjamin Pavard underwent clinical and diagnostic tests this morning at the Humanitas Institute in Rozzano. The tests revealed a strain in the adductor muscles of his right thigh,” according to a statement from the Milan-based club.

The player will be unable to play for at least the next twenty days. The goal is to have him ready for the final match before the international break—Inter vs. Como—but a return is only possible after the break. The French center-back was set to start in the match against Bologna; instead, Bisseck, Akanji, and Bastoni will in all likelihood have to play again.

Lautaro Martinez, sidelined by a muscle strain in his left thigh flexors, is expected to be out for at least three weeks and miss the matches against Bologna, Shakhtar, Fiorentina, Venezia, Milan, and Feyenoord. It’s not out of the question that he’ll also miss the match against Como on November 8: the goal is to have him back on the field after the second international break, for the Atalanta-Inter match on November 22. Up front, for Saturday’s away match at the Dall’Ara scheduled for 6 p.m., Thuram and Pio Esposito are the favorites to start, with Bonny ready to make his case and eager for his first start of the season.

Chivu also needs to resolve the uncertainty in goal. According to reports in *La Gazzetta dello Sport*, Josep Martinez is expected to start in Bologna despite his mistakes in recent matches, while Provedel is set to start in the Champions League match against Shakhtar Donetsk and could also be named the starter for the Inter-Fiorentina match on October 25