Christian Pulisic is close to returning to Milan's starting eleven after his injury lay-off, with the club treating his comeback as effectively a new signing, according to La Gazzetta dello Sport.
The context is a reshaped attacking midfield. Milan have just added Omari Hutchinson from Nottingham Forest, but the Englishman needs time to settle into Serie A, while Pulisic already knows the league and has a clearly defined role waiting for him once he is fit.
That fitness is the obstacle. Pulisic came back from the World Cup with a complex problem, a bone edema at the tibia-fibula junction of his right leg, which kept him out for a spell. He has since trained for a week and returned to the bench, and while the physical issue itself is resolved, his condition remains well short of ideal.
He was an unused substitute against Venezia, and Sergio Conceição, pressed on the American afterwards, kept the focus on managing his return. "He's a great talent," the coach said. "I simply have to manage my players' workloads, and right now we need to win. So it's difficult for Pulisic to get playing time, but he's still a very important player for us."
He is not expected to start Sunday evening in Turin against Juventus. The likeliest scenario is a run-out in the second half rather than the full 90 minutes, as he continues to build match fitness.
The reason Milan want him back quickly is straightforward: after Rafael Leão's departure, Pulisic is the squad's leading contributor for goals and assists combined. The attacking midfield behind him is a varied group, mixing the experience of Adrien Rabiot, the youth of Alphadjo Cisse, the physical presence of Ruben Loftus-Cheek, the creativity of Diego Moreira, and the running and dribbling of Alexis Saelemaekers. Settling on a pairing week to week will not be simple.
Gazzetta suggest that in a month's time the call would be easy, with Pulisic and Rabiot the obvious pair for a fixture like this one. For this weekend, the most likely partnership is Rabiot alongside Cisse.
From here, it is Pulisic's fitness that dictates the timeline, and Conceição has made clear the minutes will come only when the American is ready for them.