Kaka doubt for Barca clash Saturday 22 April, 2006
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Kaka, Massimo Ambrosini, Alessandro Nesta, Andriy Shevchenko and Marcos Cafu are dealing with injuries ahead of Wednesday’s Champions League semi-final with Barcelona.
Milan were forced to make three substitutions in the opening 28 minutes of today’s 3-1 win at Messina’s Stadio San Filippo.
Kaka bruised his knee after a tough tackle from Alessandro Nocerino and was stretchered off, while his replacement Ambrosini suffered a muscular problem soon after.
Nesta also limped away with a groin injury, while Cafu was hacked down in stoppages by Salvatore Aronica, a tackle which sparked the brawl that saw Aronica and Clarence Seedorf sent off.
There are reports that Shevchenko was seen limping away from the locker room after the match, so there are also doubts over his full fitness levels.
Johann Vogel, Filippo Inzaghi and Paolo Maldini were absent for this trip to Sicily due to minor injuries, plus Andrea Pirlo was suspended.
“We’ll see what condition I’m in after consulting with the team doctor on Sunday,” explained Nesta on the official Milan website. “Now we must focus on Barcelona and the Scudetto race will come later.”
The Rossoneri face an uphill struggle to reach the Champions League Final, having lost 1-0 on home turf in the first leg.
Inzaghi is on the road to recovery after a bout of tonsillitis, but the biggest doubts for Wednesday’s Nou Camp encounter would appear to be Kaka and Ambrosini.