AC Milan’s season has been dealt a damaging blow in the city’s winter window, with Alexis Saelemaekers set to undergo surgery on his right ankle and unlikely to return before the early months of 2027.
The Belgian winger was injured last week after rejoining the Milan squad, and further examinations have revealed a more serious problem than first anticipated. The club found that the ankle has become unstable following the operation he underwent in 2024, when he was treated for a fracture in the same area.
Surgery is now required, extending an absence that will remove Saelemaekers from Ruben Amorim’s options for much of the coming year.
A major absence on the right
Saelemaekers had become one of Milan’s most frequently used players last season, appearing 35 times and accumulating more than 2,800 minutes across the campaign. His availability had again been important at the beginning of this term.
He has played four Serie A matches, totalling 186 minutes, and also featured once in the Europa League before the latest setback interrupted his season.
With the 26-year-old facing a lengthy rehabilitation programme, Alphadjo Cissé and Christian Pulisic are among the players who could take on greater responsibility in the wide areas over the next few months.
