Inter Milan Midfielder Nicolò Barella Sidelined With Thigh Injury

Inter Milan midfielder Nicolo Barella is out with a thigh injury, the Serie A side said on Tuesday, and will miss at least the next two games for the Italian champions.

Barella, who has made 175 league appearances for Inter, has a strain in the rectus femoris of his right thigh, the club said in a statement.

“His condition will be reassessed next week,” the statement added.

He’ll be re-assessed next week, but there’s not much hope for a quick recovery. Per Mediaset and multiple sources, he’ll be sidelined for the next three games and return after the break.

This will be the second time he is unable to start for Italy, having missed the previous Nations League matches due to a nasal procedure.

Barella will miss the match against Udinese, as well as the Champions League game against Red Star Belgrade and the current Serie A leaders, Torino. This break will help manage the situation, and he is expected to return for the match against Roma at the Olimpico in about a month.

Inter has been more banged up than usual so far. Federico Dimarco, Lautaro Martinez, Hakan Calhanoglu, Stefan De Vrij, Medhi Taremi, and Piotr Zielinski have all dealt with similar problems in the early days of this season.

Barella didn’t go out on international duties in the previous break but was still managed versus Monza ahead of the clash with Manchester City. He missed just one game due to injury last season, so he’ll already exceed that this year.

Davide Frattesi and Piotr Zielinski will pick up the slack in the midfield in relief. The former has been exceptional as a super sub during his time at San Siro but hasn’t always delivered as a starter.

Inter, sixth in the standings with eight points from five matches, visit Udinese on Saturday before hosting Crvena Zvezda in a Champions League clash on Tuesday.