Matteo Gabbia: Milan Confirms the Fears That Had Been Circulating Ahead of the Match

Milan will have to do without Matteo Gabbia for a period that cannot yet be precisely determined, but will certainly be prolonged: The Rossoneri defender, who was forced to leave the field in the 20th minute of the Sassuolo-Milan match, has suffered a muscle injury that will keep him out of action starting with Thursday’s Europa League match at Salzburg, scheduled for 6:45 p.m.

“Matteo Gabbia underwent diagnostic tests today that revealed a strain of the flexor muscle in his left thigh, with partial tendon involvement,” reads the statement released by Milan on Monday. “The player will undergo a specialist consultation to determine the most appropriate treatment plan.”

Born in 1999, he came up through the Rossoneri’s youth system after taking his very first steps as a soccer player at Como and Lecco, Matteo Gabbia made his debut with Milan’s first team during the 2017–2018 season, coming on in the fourth qualifying round of the Europa League against Shkendija and playing 17 minutes in the final stages of the second leg.

Although he has always been owned by Milan, Gabbia has had a couple of stints away from Milan on loan: in the 2018–2019 season, he played for Lucchese in Serie C, while from the summer of 2023 through January 2024, he played in Spain, for Villarreal, before returning to Milan due to the numerous injuries that had plagued the defense of the team coached, that season, by Stefano Pioli.

Milan’s current head coach, Ruben Amorim, will therefore have to deal with the significant absence of number 46: the first backup is Koni De Winter, who already came on as a substitute in the match against Sassuolo; behind him, Sankhoun Diawara could move up the pecking order—after a couple of appearances in friendlies against Chelsea and Manchester United, he hasn’t seen the field since, except in training.