Ibrahimovic from the Liverpool game

AC Milan will again have to do without striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic on Wednesday when their side take on Liverpool as the Swede struggles with an Achilles injury.

Ibrahimovic had just returned from a knee injury that kept him on the sideline for four months and made it to goal in a 30-minute cameo in Sunday’s 2-0 win over Lazio.

Well, unfortunately he’s on the sidelines again. Antonio Vitiello was the first to announce that Ibrahimovic has a problem with his Achilles tendon and will therefore not play a role in the Liverpool game.

The 39-year-old’s injury is not considered too serious and his absence is more of a precautionary measure as Milan are reluctant to risk him with his knee injury after such a long hiatus.

Instead, he will stay at home while Milan face Liverpool, which means coach Stefano Pioli will now have to decide which striker to turn to in Ibrahimovic’s absence.

It was Ante Rebic who started against Lazio, but the Croatian is more of a winger by profession. Interestingly, striker Rafael Leao got the deal on the left wing for that game and it worked well as the duo together made the top scorer for the Portugal international.

Former Chelsea man Olivier Giroud, who scored twice on his last appearance for Milan, is also an option. He missed the Lazio game after testing positive for COVID-19 but is expected to be fit enough to play here.

Giroud scored against Liverpool when he last faced the Reds in July 2020 and has more experience against Jürgen Klopp’s defense compared to Pioli’s other options.

Milan will also have to do without Chelsea loanee Tiemoue Bakayoko, who sustained an injury against Lazio and allegedly targeted racist insults from fans, as well as his midfielder Rade Krunic.