Antonio Conte does not trust Qarabag. And he reassures on Hojlund and Rrahmani

Antonio Conte spoke in a press conference on the eve of the challenge with Qarabag: “They can be considered the revelation team of the Champions League, they have 7 points, obtained even on difficult fields such as Benfica, they drew the last one with Chelsea at home, coming close to winning at the end. We know very well that it is a team with a lot of foreigners, but integrated very well, high pace, quality, we need to make a great match from all points of view and as always we will need a lot of energy from the beginning because they will put a lot of it”.

A lot of injuries are affecting the Azzurri this season: “For every coach there are things you can control, game preparation, but what you can&#8217t control is who you have at your disposal. Since the beginning of the year we have had to make a virtue of necessity to make up for important situations. Let us not forget that it is the players who take the field, but having said that I always say to look for solutions to manage these moments”.

So he took stock of recovered and unavailable players: “For Hojlund and Rrahmani they were technical-tactical substitutions, Amir was coming from two intense games in the national team, he had had a very good first half and spent a lot. Hojlund the same, he had given everything. On Gilmour and Spinazzola… I wish sometimes the doctors would talk more about the situation because they are specialized, they are not muscle injuries, if you ask me the recovery time even today I can”.

Finally, the coach of the Italian champions was categorical about Romelu Lukaku: “He is absolutely not ready, he still needs to work. We know his importance, from all points of view, we are talking about an internationally recognized player. He gives a lot, he will give a lot when he is ready, but also in the locker room because he is one of the most charismatic. He had to take care of himself for so many months in Belgium, it is important because in the’emergency we will all have to put on our helmets”.