Chivu's injury has undoubtedly further exacerbated Inter Milan's player crisis. With Samuel injured and Materazzi unable to shoulder the responsibility, *Milan Sports Daily* revealed that Benitez originally planned to have Chivu return to his central defender position to partner with Lucio. However, it seems that Benitez will have to reconsider this plan.
Out of Inter Milan's 11 starting players, only Eto'o has escaped the curse of injuries, and he is also the only player performing as expected for Inter Milan so far. The rest of the starting lineup has been affected by injuries to varying degrees, such as Pandev, Milito, Cambiasso, and Chivu, whose injuries have recurred. There appears to be no end in sight to this endless cycle of injuries. With the winter transfer window still almost one and a half months away, Inter Milan must continue to rely on this roster, but next weekend, the Champions League will resume.
Upon careful calculation, Chivu is already the 10th starting player for Inter Milan to be troubled by injuries this season. At the end of September, during Inter Milan's big win over Werder Bremen in the Champions League at home, Lucio had to leave the game due to a thigh muscle injury. In the fifth round when Inter Milan lost to Roma, Pandev was injured and missed two games. In early October, both Cambiasso and Milito were injured in Argentina's friendly match against Japan. Subsequently, Inter Milan faced more misfortune; after the game between Inter Milan and Palermo, Zanetti suddenly felt unwell. During the away game against Genoa where Inter Milan won, goalkeeper Julio Cesar suffered a thigh strain. In the match where Inter Milan drew with Brescia at home, Samuel suffered a serious knee injury, Sneijder fainted at halftime, and Mc孔 (McDon) had to leave the field due to injury just 27 minutes into the first half...
Just 14 minutes into the match, while dribbling in midfield, Chivu was challenged by Italian midfielder Alberto Gilardino who attempted to tackle him. Chivu accelerated and bypassed Gilardino with a long stride, but then suddenly slowed down, appearing to have strained his thigh during the previous action. He was immediately substituted by teammate Goyan.
In the early hours of November 18 Beijing Time, Italy drew 1-1 with Romania. Inter Milan was not only concerned about Santon's return to the Italian national team but also about Romanian national team captain Chivu. While Santon performed relatively steadily, Chivu once again dealt a heavy blow to Inter Milan by leaving the field injured shortly after the start of the match. Another key player for Inter Milan has fallen victim to injury.