Alexis Saelemaekers will be out of action for several months after having surgery on an ankle injury on Tuesday, and reports in Italy have urged summer signing Omari Hutchinson to step up in his absence.
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Saelemaekers had surgery on his ankle in Amsterdam on Tuesday, and though Milan have not specified an exact lay-off time, varying reports claim he could be sidelined for anywhere from three to five months.
Saelemaekers had not quite nailed down a guaranteed starting position in the Rossoneri line-up under new head coach Ruben Amorim before his operation, starting twice and appearing twice off the bench in Serie A before the international break. But, given that the Portuguese tactician likes to tinker with his line-ups, and with Milan now a man down, Tuttomercatoweb suggests that Milan will now have to rely slightly more on a number of their summer signings.
Diego Moreira, who has provided three goals in his first four Serie A appearances, is expected to be a more regular fixture in the Milan starting XI in Saelemaekers’s absence. Like his compatriot, Moreira brings a level of versatility with his ability to fill in at either side of wing-back or as a more attacking winger.
Saelemaekers had regularly featured as a wing-back under Massimiliano Allegri last season, but has started in one of the attacking roles behind the centre-forward in a 3-4-2-1 in both of his Serie A starts so far this season.
This has led to Hutchinson being urged to prove his worth in the coming weeks. The Englishman has only played for 18 minutes in Serie A since joining Milan on loan with a potential obligation to buy from Nottingham Forest in the summer transfer window. The buy option in his contract stands at €40m.
His only start for the Rossoneri has come in the Europa League, and that evening ended in a half-time substitution in an eventual 2-0 defeat at home against Benfica.
Even with Saelemaekers out for three to five months, Hutchinson still faces a fair amount of competition for opportunities in the Milan attack, with Christian Pulisic, Samuel Chukwueze and Alphadjo Cisse all having earned more minutes than him so far in 2026-27.