Milan Sweat on Loftus-Cheek as Injury Crisis Deepens After Udine Win

A win that came at a cost

AC Milan left Udine with three points but another name on the treatment table. Ruben Loftus-Cheek turned in a Davide Bartesaghi cross at the back post to cap the Rossoneri's 2-0 win, but the England midfielder sustained an injury during a sliding tackle by Udinese defender Matteo Palma later in the match.

The setback compounds a difficult week for Milan, who are already without Adrien Rabiot, Diego Moreira and Mario Gila after fresh injuries, while Samuel Chukwueze, Matteo Gabbia, Alexis Saelemaekers and Pietro Terracciano were also unavailable for the trip to Friuli.

Milan arrived in Udine on the back of Thursday's 3-0 Europa League defeat at Bournemouth, a match in which goalkeeper Mike Maignan was sent off. Maignan returned between the posts against Udinese and was kept busy, palming Hassane Kamara's snapshot round the base of the near post, spilling a ferocious long-range Mergim Vojvoda strike, and making a tricky save from a Keinan Davis volley six yards out from a set play.

Pulisic and Hutchinson deliver on the pitch

On the field, the goals came from Christian Pulisic, who struck inside six minutes after Luka Modric took a quick free kick over the top of the Udinese defence, and Omari Hutchinson, who smashed home the rebound after Maduka Okoye parried Ardon Jashari's effort from the edge of the box on 65 minutes — his first goal in a Milan shirt.

Nicolò Zaniolo, who had not featured for five weeks, returned to the Udinese bench and made his comeback as a substitute.

Udinese's slide continues

For Udinese, the defeat was a sixth in succession in Serie A. Kosta Runjaic's side had already lost five straight league games before this fixture, most recently 3-0 at home to relegation candidates Lecce. Pre-match reporting on 25 October noted that Udinese had lost all of their previous five Serie A matches by an aggregate score of 13-5, their longest run of consecutive defeats since an 11-game streak between February and April 2018.

The Friulani were again depleted against Milan, with Oumar Solet, David Alaba, Idrissa Gueye, Vakoun Bayo and Alessandro Zanoli all missing. Substitute Alphadjo Cisse came off the bench and within 60 seconds cut inside to bend a right-foot finish just wide, while Okoye twice rescued his side — palming a Gonçalo Ramos effort onto the crossbar from close range and keeping the scoreline down as Milan pushed for more.