AC Milan boost as Rafael Leao set to return for Champions League semi-final second leg

AC Milan hope to welcome back Rafael Leao for the second leg of their Champions League semi-final against fierce rivals Inter Milan on Tuesday.

Milan were without star man Leao, who was sidelined with a thigh injury, when they lost the "home" leg 2-0 at San Siro last week.

Without his creative spark, they had only three clear-cut chances against Inter, as Sandro Tonali hit the post and Junior Messias and Brahim Díaz fired shots narrowly wide. Veteran striker Olivier Giroud was isolated up front and barely got a touch as Milan missed Leao's devastating pace.

But Milan manager Stefano Pioli said on Monday: “If today’s training goes OK, Leao will start.”

Winger Leao was named Serie A’s most valuable player when Milan won the Serie A title last year. He was also instrumental when they knocked Napoli out in the quarter-finals.

In contrast to Giroud, Inter’s old-stagers were in superb form in the first leg, with 37-year-old Edin Dzeko and 34-year-old Henrikh Mkhitaryan scoring the goals for the Nerazzuri.

“How old am I today? I’m 37 but I feel good and that’s what’s important,” said Dzeko. “I feel fresh maybe because I was rested [against Sassuolo] three days ago.

“But the whole team was fired up. It’s not every year you play a Champions League semi-final and especially a derby. We were focused from the first minute to the last and we were rewarded for that.”

The Bosnian forward became the second-oldest scorer in the Champions League last four when he notched the 400th goal of his career. Mkhitaryan moved into seventh on that list.

Dzeko has got on the scoresheet in all three of his semi-final appearances in the Champions League, having registered in both legs of Roma’s 2018 semi-final loss to Liverpool.

The other semi-final