Chivu's injury has undoubtedly further exacerbated Inter Milan's player crisis. With Samuel injured and Materazzi unable to shoulder the responsibility, it was revealed by *Milan Sport* that Benitez originally planned to return Chivu to the central defender position to partner with Lucio. However, it now seems that Benitez will have to reconsider this plan.
Out of Inter Milan’s 11 starting players, only Eto'o has managed to escape the curse of injuries, and he is also the only player who has performed consistently well for Inter so far. The rest of the key players have all suffered from injuries to varying degrees, such as Pandev, Milito, Cambiasso, and Chivu, whose conditions have recurred. One after another, these injuries show no signs of stopping. There is still nearly one and a half months until the winter transfer window opens, yet Inter must continue to rely on this current roster. Moreover, next weekend, the Champions League will resume.
Upon close examination, Chivu is already the tenth starting player for Inter Milan to be affected by injuries in the new 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 field due to a thigh muscle issue. In the fifth round match where Inter lost to Roma, Pandev got injured and missed two games. In early October, Cambiasso and Milito were both injured in a friendly match between Argentina and Japan. Subsequently, Inter continued to face misfortune; after the game against Palermo, Zanetti suddenly felt unwell. In the away victory over Genoa, goalkeeper Julio Cesar suffered a thigh strain. During the home draw against Brescia, Samuel's knee was severely deformed, Sneijder fainted during halftime, and Maicon had to leave the field injured just 27 minutes into the first half...
Just 14 minutes into the game, while dribbling in midfield, Chivu encountered a tackle attempt by Italian midfielder Mauri. Chivu accelerated with a large stride to bypass Mauri, but then suddenly slowed down. It appeared that his thigh may have been pulled during the previous movement. Shortly afterward, Chivu was substituted off by teammate Goyan.
In the early hours of November 18th Beijing time, Italy drew 1-1 with Romania. Inter Milan was concerned not only about Santon, who returned to the Italian national team, but also about Chivu, the captain of the Romanian national team. While Santon performed relatively steadily, Chivu once again dealt a blow to Inter Milan by leaving the field injured shortly after the start of the match, marking another casualty for Inter.