AC Milan are plunged into goalkeeping crisis with No 1 Mike Maignan ‘set to miss two months after wrist surgery’, and Serie A giants are forced to move for a 38-year-old on a free transfer as cover – with their back-up already out!
- AC Milan No 1 Mike Maignan is set to be out for two months with a wrist issue
- The Frenchman underwent surgery on Wednesday to fix the long-term problem
- Milan have moved to sign ex-Roma goalkeeper Antonio Mirante, 38, on a free
- Mirante will compete with Ciprian Tatarusanu, 35, for a Milan starting spot
- Young Milan goalkeeper Alessandro Plizzari is out until January with a knee issue
AC Milan goalkeeper Mike Maignan is set for two months out on the sidelines after undergoing wrist injury on Wednesday, forcing the Rossoneri to move for 38-year-old Antonio Mirante on a free transfer.
Milan announced on Tuesday that Maignan, who was signed as Gianluigi Donnarumma’s replacement this summer, will undergo a procedure to fix a wrist fracture he has been struggling with since Milan’s trip to Liverpool last month.
Maignan could face up to two months on the sidelines, according to reports in Italy, meaning Milan have moved to sign 38-year-old goalkeeper Mirante, who was released by Roma over the summer.
AC Milan goalkeeper MIke Maignan is set to be out for two months after wrist surgery
The Rossoneri have moved to sign ex-Roma goalkeeper Antonio Mirante, 38, on a free transfer
Italian goalkeeper Mirante has been brought in response to Maignan’s injury, with young Milan shot stopper Alessandro Plizzari also out until January after undergoing knee surgery last month.
That left Romanian Ciprian Tatarusanu as the only recognised goalkeeper in Milan’s first-team squad, with Mirante coming in to compete with the 35-year-old.
Mirante’s agent, Valerio Giuffrida, confirmed that Mirante is set for a Milan move just months after being let go by Jose Mourinho’s Giallorossi.
‘It was a completely unexpected event,’ Giuffirda told Tuttomercatoweb on Wednesday. ‘(It’s) very negative for Milan, because Maignan was doing very well, a little more positive for (Mirante) who is realising his dream, which is to play for Milan.
Mirante (left) was let go by Roma at the end of last season after being a back-up option there
‘There was a chance meeting at Milan, we had gone there for something else, and ten minutes earlier they had heard the news of the wrist fracture.’
France international goalkeeper Maignan had been in excellent form for Milan until his injury, playing in every single game in the Rossoneri’s unbeaten start to the Serie A campaign.
Stefano Pioli’s side sit second in the Italian top-flight table, two points behind Napoli who have won every single game so far, with Milan’s only slip-up being a 1-1 draw away at Juventus.
Maignan (above) had impressed in Milan’s unbeaten start to the Serie A season this term
But Maignan picked up a wrist injury in Milan’s 3-2 loss at Anfield last month but still played in the club’s three Serie A games after that, plus their Champions League group stage loss to Atletico Madrid, before opting to do wrist surgery.
Mirante, meanwhile, came through the youth ranks at Juventus and played seven times in the year they won Serie B in 2007, after the Turin club’s relegation following the Calciopoli match-fixing scandal.
After his time at Juventus, the goalkeeper had a short stint at Sampdoria before spending six season with Parma in Serie A, making over 200 league appearances.
Stefano Pioli’s (above) Milan also have Theo Hernandez sidelined due to coronavirus this week
He left Parma in 2015 to join Bologna where he was No 1 for three years. He the moved to Roma where he was a back-up option before his release in June.
Meanwhile, Milan’s first-team squad took a further hit on Wednesday when it was announced that defender Theo Hernandez has tested for positive for coronavirus after coming back from international duty with France.
The 24-year-old, who scored the winner in Les Bleus’ Nations League semi-final win over Belgium, is now set to miss the Rossoneri’s next league game with Verona on Saturday.
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