Inter’s Federico Dimarco ruled out for Champions League clash vs Real Madrid

Inter Milan will travel to the Spanish capital without one of their most important attacking weapons. Federico Dimarco, the 28-year-old left wing-back who has become central to nearly everything Inter do going forward, has been ruled out of the Champions League match against Real Madrid on September 8 after sustaining a mild left knee sprain. The injury occurred during Inter’s Serie A fixture against Napoli on September 5, a game Dimarco actually influenced before leaving it. He registered an assist on Lautaro Martinez’s goal, showed enough fight to return after halftime, and then couldn’t continue past the 62nd minute. What happened and why Inter pulled the plug Dimarco’s substitution against Napoli initially raised alarm bells, but medical assessments conducted afterward ruled out serious structural damage. The diagnosis landed on a mild sprain, the sort of injury that sits in an uncomfortable gray zone: not bad enough to require weeks on the sideline, not minor enough to wave off for a massive European fixture two days later. On September 7, Dimarco was spotted training with a bandage wrapped around his left knee. By the end of the session, Inter’s coaching staff, led by Cristia...