Milan have organised a practice match against Serie B side Padova at Milanello on the morning of Friday 2 October, according to La Gazzetta dello Sport, as Ruben Amorim looks to keep his squad ticking over during the three-week international break.
The break, a new addition to the calendar this season, has left Serie A clubs scrambling for ways to maintain sharpness. Milan are among the hardest hit: 15 players were called up by their national teams, including those with the U21s, tying Como for the most in the league. That leaves Amorim with a skeleton group at Milanello when training resumes on Tuesday 29 September.
The friendly against Padova will be played behind closed doors at 11:30 AM, and with so many senior players away, it is almost certain to feature members of the Milan Futuro and Primavera squads. It gives those younger players a rare chance to impress the head coach in a competitive setting rather than the usual training-ground routine.
Amorim himself will stay in Milan with his family throughout the break, bar a brief one-day trip to Portugal for matters related to his coaching licence. His focus is already on the fixture list waiting on the other side: a demanding run of games stretches from the return to action through to the end of October.
After the 3-0 win over Lecce on Sunday night, there will be no football at San Siro for some time. How the squad emerges from this pause, physically and tactically, could shape how that October schedule plays out.