Rafael Leão will not feature against Torino after failing to train today, according to Daniele Longo, with a transfer still being sought before the window shuts.
The absence lands in the middle of a saga that has run all summer, with Leão's place in Ruben Amorim's plans unresolved and his future openly up for negotiation. Gerry Cardinale was at Milanello today, and among his meetings was one with the Portuguese, a sign of how much weight the situation carries at ownership level.
Longo reports that Leão did not train ahead of the Torino fixture and so will sit out. That opens a starting berth, potentially for Alphadjo Cissé, with Christian Pulisic also a doubt for the opener.
On the longer view, the direction is towards an exit. Milan are looking for a suitable move for Leão, and only if one fails to materialise would Amorim have to, in Longo's words, "carefully reintegrate him". The tactical and technical fit that has dogged the pairing all summer would make that no simple task.
Reintegration would be the fallback for one reason: to stop his value sliding further. There is still time to arrange a sale, and the reporting suggests all sides want a separation, but something needs to move quickly for that to happen.
Every week without a resolution shrinks the window and the price, so the next move belongs to whoever brings Milan a concrete offer.