Carlo Ancelotti insists it remains too early to put an exact timescale on Abdoulaye Doucoure but admits he’ll be missing for the next two matches. Asked if Doucoure had fractured his foot,
Carlo Ancelotti said: “I have to be honest with you, I don’t really know what happened, they are checking. We will be more precise in the next few days. We are sure he will be out – and I don’t know how long – but until the [international] break and when we are more precise on the recovery I will tell you.”
Quizzed more on the timescale,
Carlo Ancelotti said: “Really I don’t know. It is an important injury but I don’t know how long he will be out.”
Doucoure’s importance is reflected in the fact he had only missed one league game before this evening’s trip to Chelsea. But Ancelotti says the squad is good enough to cope with his absence.
Carlo Ancelotti added: “We were out with Digne for two months and we replaced him really well using the back four. We were without Allan for two months and Tom Davies did fantastic performances. We are also going to manage the absence of Doucoure, of course. He is an important player, he puts a lot of energy [into the midfield] but I think we have the possibility to replace him well.”