Amorim Addresses Maignan and Rabiot Absences: A Strategic Decision
Ruben Amorim didn’t wait for the storm to pass. He walked straight into it.
After Milan’s eye-catching 4-2 win over Manchester United in Poland, the noise wasn’t just about the goals or the fluid attacking play. It was about who wasn’t there. Mike Maignan and Adrien Rabiot, two of the pillars of this new-look Milan, watched the final stretch of pre-season from afar, sparking doubts over their fitness and commitment ahead of the Serie A opener against Torino.
Amorim cut that narrative down quickly.
“Rabiot and Maignan had more days off because they played more. That was important to me,” the Milan coach said, speaking after dismantling his former club. “Everyone complains about the number of games and the players being unable to cope with the strain, and I gave the players those extra days because I already knew they wouldn’t be able to play today’s match. So I gave them three more days. Nothing will change. And I need to say that it was my decision, not the players.”
No room for misinterpretation there. The coach took ownership, and he wanted it on record.
Extra rest now, February in mind
The plan was never improvised. Maignan and Rabiot reported back to Milanello on Sunday morning, straight into the first phase of their reintegration. While the rest of the squad eased through a recovery session after the trip back from Poland, the two French internationals were put through a battery of fitness tests and physiological checks.
The idea is simple: find out exactly what work they did during their break, then build a tailored program to close the gap in match sharpness without overloading them. Short-term noise for long-term gain.
By granting those extra three days off, Amorim believes he is protecting his core players for the heart of the season, not the opening weeks.
He is thinking about February and March, not just the heat of August.
The coach has been clear inside the dressing room as well. The players wanted to come back earlier, he insisted, but he stepped in as the final decision-maker to stop them rushing their return. The message is as much to his squad as it is to the outside world: the calendar is brutal, and Milan will manage it on their terms.
Full group at last
The schedule from here is mapped out. Maignan and Rabiot are set to rest on Monday before stepping into full-contact training with the rest of the squad on Tuesday. It will be the first time all summer that Amorim has his entire first-team group together on the grass.
For a coach obsessed with structure and collective movement, that moment matters. It is the final piece of the pre-season puzzle, the point where tactical cohesion can be refined with everyone available.
Amorim underlined again why the fuss around his stars’ absence missed the point.
“They want to train. Tomorrow they’ll be at Milanello preparing for the first match,” he said. “They had a full schedule and followed the schedule, because we have proof that they did. So I want to make this really clear, because I think it’s important. We’ll evaluate Rabiot. Rabiot is a really important player for us. But, as we showed today, we have to be confident. We need to rest the players who need rest because it will be a very demanding season.”
That 4-2 against United was his Exhibit A. Even without two of his biggest names, Milan looked sharp, aggressive and ruthless in transition. The performance gave Amorim the platform to push back on any suggestion of internal tension or player power.
Maignan to start, Torino in sight
One doubt has already been removed. Maignan is expected to start against Torino.
For Amorim, the goalkeeper position sits in a category of its own. The Frenchman has been training consistently, and his history at Milan speaks for itself.
“It’s a different position. He’s been training all the time,” Amorim explained. “If you look at the number of games he’s played in recent seasons with Milan, he plays every game. He’ll be ready for the first match because it’s a different position.”
Rabiot’s status is more nuanced. He will be evaluated over the coming days before a final call is made on his role against Torino. The coach will not gamble with his fitness, but he also knows the midfielder’s influence could be decisive as Milan try to carry the swagger of their win over United into the league.
The tone has been set. Amorim has drawn a clear line on who decides the rhythm of this squad. Now the question is whether that calculated patience with his stars pays off when the real points go on the table next weekend.
