While all of Barcelona’s attention is trained on tonight’s Copa del Rey final against Real Madrid, some maneuvering at Inter Milan has quietly taken place that could factor into their upcoming Champions League semifinal.
The Serie A side, fresh off a Coppa Italia exit, has some difficult decisions to make regarding player fitness ahead of their European clash with Barça.
Inter Milan training facility has been a shot of fickle optimism this week.
The Italian press is reporting that wing-back Denzel Dumfries and midfielder Piotr Zielinski have returned to full training following concerns over their fitness levels, according to Mundo Deportivo.
Both were on the training pitch on Friday, with a clean bill of health. However, Inter Milan manager Simone Inzaghi is expected to use them sparingly this weekend in Serie A against Roma.
The main priority is making sure they are available for the clash against Barcelona, and it appears the club is prepared to give away domestic points to protect its players.
The larger issue at hand centers around Marcus Thuram.
The French striker has been a big part of Inter’s attack all year and continues to run individually, and is not with the group.
He does not seem to be part of the drills as Inter’s medical staff work against time to get him ready. Doubts are mustering, at least internally, regarding his participation in the first leg against Barcelona.
This is a mixed bag of news for Barcelona.
While Inter’s attack could be without Thuram in the first leg, it still faces reinforcement with Dumfries and Zielinski returning to help restore threatening parts of the Inter system.
As they are only hours away from the Copa del Rey final, Barcelona’s staff are quietly taking note of this information as their hopes for Europe hinge, in part, on how this fitness saga plays out.
The reality of it all is that the impacts won’t be known until the Champions League returns next week.
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