Saelemaekers to have ankle surgery again, out for 3+ months

📰 Alexis Saelemaekers will have surgery on the right ankle he had operated on before, ruling him out for the rest of the year. 📌 Key points 🦶 Saelemaekers hurt his right ankle in training at Milanello on 29 September. 🔍 Milan said scans showed the ankle had lost stability. 🏥 Italian media report the player has chosen surgery. 📅 He is expected to be out for over three months, returning in 2027. 🔁 Milan must cover with Pulisic, Cisse and others. 📝 What happened 🦶 Saelemaekers sprained his right ankle in training at Milanello on 29 September. Initial scans ruled out damage to the bones and ligaments, but he kept feeling severe pain whenever he tried to train. 🔍 Milan said in a statement that "the ankle, following the recent trauma in training, has lost stability at the site of the previous surgery". He had an operation on the same ankle in 2024, for a fracture of the medial malleolus, while on loan at Roma. 🏥 According to Corriere dello Sport and Football Italia, he has opted for surgery rather than conservative treatment. He is expected to be out for more than three months and not to return until 2027. 😔 Saelemaekers had not been a regular starter under Ruben Amorim this season, and had hoped to win his place back and earn a Belgium recall. Those plans are now on hold. 📊 By the numbers • Injured: 29 September, in training • First operation on the same ankle: 2024 • Expected absence: more than three months 🔭 Why it matters With a wide option gone, Milan see Christian Pulisic and Alphadjo Cisse as the main alternatives, with Omari Hutchinson, Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Diego Moreira also mentioned. Whether they strengthen in January is now a talking point. Milan travel to Sassuolo in Serie A Week 6 this weekend.