Stefano Pioli’s first signing

From now on, new AC Milan coach Stefano Pioli can count on Mattia Caldara. The Italian defender has fully recovered and will be available for Milan-Lecce.

MILAN NEWS – Good news on AC Milan has been very sporadic recently. In a time when the club has been invaded by depressing news and judgements about the Rossoneri’s coaches (new and old) its good to hear that Mattia Caldara has finally recovered from the knee injury.

The 25-year-old defender has trained for the first time with the rest of the squad this season, right on time for Stefano Pioli’s first training session ever. For the new Rossoneri coach, the full recovery of the former Atalanta and Juventus centre-back is very important. After a long series of repeated injuries, Caldara hopes to be able to return on the pitch and be one of AC Milan’s protagonists for the remaining of the season.

Caldara was signed in the summer of 2018 as part of a swap deal involving Leonardo Bonucci. The idea of the club was to partner him with captain Alessio Romagnoli. Unfortunately, the many physical problems have prevented this from happening. Mattia Caldara made only two appearances last season: one in Europa League against Dudelange (September 2018) and the other in Coppa Italia against Lazio (April 2019).

Pioli hopes to count on a fully recovered Caldara given that Mateo Musacchio and Leo Duarte have not shown themselves to be very reliable so far. According to La Gazzetta dello Sport, Mattia has left behind his ACL injury and could be called up for Milan-Lecce.

Mattia Caldara and Stefano Pioli

Obviously the former Atalanta and Juventus defender will not be able to immediately start from the first minute. He will need time and space to acquire play rhythm but the Rossoneri doctors are confident. Coach Pioli must be capable at handling his situation and the player himself will have to avoid overdoing and patiently wait for his return on the pitch. If done right, Mattia Caldara has the skills, talent and experience to be considered a top signing for AC Milan.

READ MORE: Who is Stefano Pioli and why he’s a BAD choice for AC Milan