Inter have gone into the international break with their treatment room filling up at the worst possible moment. Marcus Thuram and Ange-Yoan Bonny have both withdrawn from their national teams with thigh injuries, Aleksandar Stankovic has followed them back to Milan from Serbia duty, and today's recovery report in Italy suggests neither striker will be ready for the trip to Atalanta on November 22 or the Champions League visit of Stuttgart three days later.
Thuram sent home by France
Thuram felt discomfort in his right hamstring during Sunday's 2-0 Serie A win over Como, a game in which he scored Inter's second goal. He reported to Clairefontaine anyway, but the problem stopped him training on Monday and, with no improvement on Tuesday morning, the French Football Federation released him back to his club in agreement with Inter and the player. The Associated Press account of the FFF statement matches the report in Football Italia: Bournemouth forward Eli Junior Kroupi has been called up for his first senior cap as Thuram's replacement, and France face Italy at San Siro on Thursday before hosting Turkey on Sunday.
It is a cruel twist for the 29-year-old. Thuram had scored in all five of his home Serie A appearances at San Siro this season, and his recall under Zinedine Zidane was a chance to restart his international story. Instead he will watch France play Italy in his own stadium from the stands, and his fight is now a club one.
Bonny and Stankovic make it three withdrawals
Bonny's story mirrors Thuram's. The Ivorian forward picked up his muscle problem late in the same Como match and was withdrawn from Ivory Coast's Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers against Gambia, with Sturm Graz forward Oumar Diakite replacing him. He stayed in Milan for tests rather than travel. Stankovic then became the third Inter player sent home, the Serbian federation confirming a right thigh adductor injury picked up in training on Monday that rules him out of Serbia's games against Germany and Greece.
Today's recovery round-up, carried by LiveScore, puts flesh on the timelines. Thuram is unlikely to recover in time for Atalanta on November 22 or Stuttgart on November 25, with a return to the squad against Genoa on November 28 described as more realistic. Bonny, with a strain to the flexor muscles of his right thigh, faces the same timetable, while Stankovic is expected to be out for about a month, targeting Torino on December 13 or Lecce on December 18.
What it means for Atalanta, Stuttgart and the title race
There is at least balance in the list. Lautaro Martinez, out since October 13 with a left thigh strain, is close enough that Cristian Chivu could include his captain in the squad at Atalanta, and John Stones and Curtis Jones should both be available again straight after the break. Inter sit second on 28 points, one behind leaders Lazio, so the margin for a misstep in Bergamo is thin.
But the arithmetic up front is stark. If Lautaro is only fit for the bench and both Thuram and Bonny are out, Chivu's attack at Atalanta rests heavily on Pio Esposito, the scorer against Como, with a Champions League night against Stuttgart following three days later. It also sharpens everything else Inter are juggling, from the Calhanoglu contract talks to January planning: a squad built to fight on two fronts cannot afford its forward line to thin out in November.
Beyond the Final Whistle: Inter did nothing wrong here — both injuries came in a Serie A match, not on international duty — but that will be no comfort to Chivu. A season that has gone almost perfectly at San Siro now turns on a treatment room: get Lautaro back properly, keep Esposito firing, and the title race stays in Inter's hands; rush anyone, and November could undo all of it.
Can Esposito carry Inter's attack at Atalanta if Thuram, Bonny and a half-fit Lautaro are all missing? Have your say below.
