AC Milan coach Gennaro Gattuso insists Gonzalo Higuain was only kept out of his starting XI due to illness, despite growing reports of a move to Chelsea.
The Argentine started on the bench in Wednesday’s Supercoppa Italiana defeat to Juventus, and only made an appearance with 20 minutes remaining with the Rossoneri trailing.
Reports continue to mount that Higuain will join Chelsea in the coming days, but Gattuso made it clear he was only dropped due to a fever.
“Nothing happened,” he told Rai Sport. “Last night he had a fever of 38.5 degrees.
“After that I opted to have someone fresher on the pitch. It might seem like a joke but it’s true.
“When the Saudi Prince came I decided not to have him join in the picture because I was afraid the virus would spread to the other players.
“Is this Higuain’s final game with Milan? My stomach is burning, don’t make me say things that hurt me. I have 25 players at my disposal, we’ll see what happens tomorrow.”
Milan finished the match with 10 men after Franck Kessie was sent off for a stomp on Emre Can, and Gattuso hinted he wasn’t pleased with some of the decisions in the match.
“I have to compliment my team as there is no point at looking at certain decisions,” he added. “You are here to do that.
“Kessie’s foul was clear, but the only thing is that we have to know how to use technology. Juventus scored two goals and they let the play run.
“[Patrick] Cutrone started a run and the offside flag was raised. These things bother me because I can’t understand them.
“However we’ll move forward as things didn’t go our way this time. Our focus is on the league.”
Source: forzaitalianfootball.com