No risks, no forcing it. Cristian Chivu has yet to make a final decision, but he is seriously considering leaving Lautaro Martinez out of the starting line-up for tomorrow's 18:00 clash with Alberto Gilardino's new Parma at San Siro. The call is tied to the workload of the Toro, who played in all three of Argentina's matches and started every one: 75 minutes against Bolivia, 45 against Burkina Faso and 79 against Benin, on the night of Messi's farewell to the Albiceleste. During the international break, the Inter captain also moved past Kun Aguero in Argentina's all-time scoring charts, climbing into third place with 42 goals. He did it with the goals he scored against Bolivia and Burkina Faso.
Rest day
Inter should rotate a little as they prepare to face the new Parma and get the league campaign back up and running. Marcus Thuram will certainly start up front after not being called up by Zidane for France's Nations League fixtures and spending the past few weeks working at Appiano. He is set to line up alongside either Pio Esposito or Bonny, with the former Parma player the favourite. Today's training session should offer important clues. It will be the first proper one for Lautaro after yesterday's session, which the Argentine still wanted to take part in despite the long journey and the time difference. Lautaro's view obviously carries significant weight, but the thinking among Inter's staff is to rest him against Parma. Or at least start him on the bench.
Busy schedule
Like every side still involved in the cups, Inter will play every three days until 8 November, the final fixture before the international break. They host Parma on Saturday at 18:00, then welcome Bruges to San Siro on Tuesday 13 October at 21:00. Bologna away at the Dall'Ara follows on Saturday 17 October at 18:00, before Shakhtar Donetsk visit on Wednesday 21 October at 21:00. Fiorentina are then at San Siro on Sunday 25 October at 12:30, followed by Venezia away in the midweek round on Wednesday 28. The derby against AC Milan comes next on Saturday 31 October at 20:45, away from home, before another Champions League night in Rotterdam against Feyenoord on Tuesday 3 November at 21:00. The run ends on 8 November at 18:00 with the league meeting against Cesc Fabregas's Como.
ENJOYED THIS STORY?
Add GOAL.com as a preferred source on Google to see more of our reporting
