Stefano Pioli is hopeful Zlatan Ibrahimovic can help get Milan's campaign back on track after confirming the striker will start Sunday's Serie A clash with Fiorentina.
Ibrahimovic returned from a thigh injury with 25 minutes from the bench in Thursday's 1-0 loss to Manchester United in the Europa League.
He was unable to mark his return to action with a goal against his former club but has 16 for the season overall, 14 of those coming in the same number of league appearances.
Milan have struggled for goals in the 39-year-old's absence, scoring four times in their last five games in a run that includes back-to-back blanks in defeats to Napoli and United.
Indeed, after scoring in 38 consecutive league games, Milan have failed to score in four of their last nine, losing each of the four matches in which they did not find the net.
Pioli is therefore glad to have Ibrahimovic, who was this week recalled to the Sweden squad after a near-five-year absence, back available for Sunday's trip to Fiorentina.
"Zlatan took advantage of his minutes on Thursday to improve his condition and will start from the first minute tomorrow," Pioli said at a pre-match news conference on Saturday.
"I still don't know if he has 90 minutes in his legs, but his presence is important for us and he will make a big difference."
Milan went down 2-1 on aggregate to United - Paul Pogba's strike in the second leg at San Siro ultimately proving the difference - and are left battling in just one competition between now and the end of the season.
The Rossoneri lost 1-0 to Napoli last time out in Serie A and have won just two of their last six league games, placing them nine points behind leaders Inter.
Juventus are a point further back with a game in hand, meanwhile, but Pioli is not throwing in the title towel yet with 11 matches still to play.
Asked if it bothers him that many have ruled Milan out of the Scudetto race, Pioli said: "Who has said that? Maybe I should hang up some newspaper headlines in the locker room?
"Being eliminated by United is something we regret, but we come out of the game even more aware of our qualities and that little details can make all the difference."
Sunday's opponents Fiorentina ended a three-game winless run with a 4-1 victory at Benevento last weekend to move up to 14th.
Cesare Prandelli's side have drawn three of their last four home league games with Milan and Pioli is anticipating a tough test in Florence.
"We're aiming for the top and must try to win every match. But I think tomorrow might be the most complicated of them all," said Pioli, who both played for and previously managed La Viola.
"Fiorentina are in good shape, and we are coming off a very tiring run of games. I am sure we'll step up a gear after the international break."
He added: "I experienced a great deal in Florence as a player and then a coach, then of course the tragedy of what happened to Davide Astori leaves its mark.
"It can never be a normal match. Florence and Fiorentina are more than opponents. Last year, the welcome I received when I returned there filled me with joy."
Ibrahimovic's return is a big positive for Milan, but they remain without fellow attackers Mario Mandzukic and Rafael Leao, while Ante Rebic is serving a suspension.
"We knew there could be difficulties with such a packed schedule and we've so far played more competitive games than anyone else," Pioli said of his side's recent injury woes.
"I feel that the team has overcome the difficult moment, as recent performances have been strong and we only lost due to minor incidents.
"There are some justifications for the number of injuries, whereas in some cases we missed something and that mustn't happen again."
Curtin sacked by Philadelphia Union, Arena new San Jose head coach
The Philadelphia Union have parted ways with head coach Jim Curtin, the club announced on Thursday.
Curtin was the second-longest serving coach in the MLS, only behind Sporting Kansas City's Peter Vermes, but his 10-year stint at Subaru Park has finally come to an end.
During the 45-year-old's tenure, the Union won the 2020 Supporters' Shield and made the 2022 MLS Cup final.
But Philadelphia struggled this season, finishing 12th in the Eastern Conference standings and therefore missing the Audi MLS Cup Playoffs for the first time since 2017.
Curtin oversaw 394 matches in all competitions, winning 170 (D90 L134), ending with a win percentage of 41.9%.
"We want to extend our heartfelt appreciation to Jim for his passion and dedication to this club over the last 10 seasons," sporting director Ernst Tanner said in a statement.
"He greatly contributed to the success the club has achieved in recent years and for that, we are extremely grateful.
"We thank Jim for the significant impact he made both on the field and in the community. Following the 2024 season, we recognise the need for change.
"We'll continue to evaluate our sporting strategy and make the necessary changes this offseason to best set the team up for success."
In the Western Conference, the San Jose Earthquakes named Bruce Arena as their new head coach and sporting director after a poor 2024 season.
They conceded an MLS-record 78 goals and finished bottom of the overall league standings, parting ways with Luchi Gonzalez before being led by interim coach Ian Russell.
Arena takes charge of his fifth club in the MLS and his first since resigning from his position with the New England Revolution in 2023.
The 73-year-old is the most accomplished coach in MLS history, leading the league in regular-season wins (262) and Audi MLS Cup Playoffs victories (35).
Additionally, Arena led the United States at the 2002 and 2006 World Cups and won three CONCACAF Gold Cup titles.
"I am extremely excited for the opportunity to come to San Jose," said Arena.
"I coached my first ever professional game at Spartan Stadium in 1996 – the first game in MLS history – and my first international game with the U.S. in 1998 was in San Jose.
"The Earthquakes and Northern California have a proud soccer tradition.
"There’s a lot of potential with the club, and I am looking forward to working with everyone here to unlock that potential and get back to winning ways."
England handed World Cup final reunion with Spain in Women's Nations League
England will face a re-run of the Women's 2023 World Cup final after being drawn in the same group as Spain in the 2025 Women's Nations League.
Sarina Wiegman's side will face the world and Nations League champions for the first time since the August 2023 World Cup final, where they lost 1-0 in Australia.
The Lionesses are joined in Group A3 by Belgium, who stunned England in the previous edition of the tournament with a 3-2 win in Leuven last October, and Portugal.
During the October international break, England were beaten 4-3 by Germany, but responded with a 2-1 triumph over South Africa.
They face Emma Hayes' United States at Wembley in an international friendly at the end of this month before taking on Switzerland in December before the tournament starts.
“It’s an exciting draw. We have Spain – a top, world-class team – which I think is exciting because it’s another opportunity to play at that level," Wiegman said.
“It’s really good that we play Belgium because in the last Nations League we lost when we played them away, and we really underperformed.
"We can prove to ourselves now that we can do much better than that in the two games. I’m happy with that one, they’re tough.
“Portugal are a very talented team. We played them before we went to the World Cup, and we drew with them.
"We had a lot of the ball, but we couldn’t score, and they were very dangerous on the counter-attack. They have a lot of technical players.
“There are different opponents, and I’m really looking forward to it because we’ll be challenged in different areas of the game. And of course we’ll give them challenges too.”
Germany give surprise maiden call up to Ortega
Julian Nagelsmann has handed a maiden Germany call-up to goalkeeper Stefan Ortega in his squad for the upcoming Nations League games.
The 32-year-old has only made four appearances for Manchester City this season, two in the Champions League and two in the EFL Cup, and was a surprise inclusion in the squad.
Ortega, who joined City in 2022, is the second-choice goalkeeper behind Ederson but received plaudits after filling in at the end of last season when the Brazilian suffered an eye injury.
There is also a return for Borussia Dortmund's Felix Nmecha, who is called up for the first time since September 2023. He has scored two goals and registered two assists in 14 appearances in all competitions this season.
Kai Havertz is also in the squad, having pulled out of their games in the October international break due to a knee injury.
Germany have already qualified for the quarter-finals of the Nations League, having collected 10 points from their opening four games.
Nagelsmann is not ready to ease up on the pressure when they face Bosnia-Herzegovina and Hungary, with the first of those matches on November 16.
"After making sure of a spot in the quarter-finals, we now want to seal top spot in the group," said Nagelsmann.
"Reaching the Nations League final four next year is an important milestone on our way to the 2026 World Cup."
Germany squad in full:
Oliver Baumann (Hoffenheim), Alexander Nubel (Stuttgart), Stefan Ortega (Manchester City), Robin Gosens (Fiorentina), Benjamin Henrichs (RB Leipzig), Joshua Kimmich (Bayern Munich), Robin Koch (Eintracht Frankfurt), Maximilian Mittelstadt (Stuttgart), Antonio Rudiger (Real Madrid), Nico Schlotterbeck (Borussia Dortmund), Jonathan Tah (Bayer Leverkusen), Robert Andrich (Bayer Leverkusen), Julian Brandt (Borussia Dortmund), Chris Fuhrich (Stuttgart), Pascal Gross (Borussia Dortmund), Jamal Musiala (Bayern Munich), Felix Nmecha (Borussia Dortmund), Angelo Stiller (Stuttgart), Florian Wirtz (Bayer Leverkusen), Serge Gnabry (Bayern Munich), Kai Havertz (Arsenal), Tim Kleindienst (Borussia Monchengladbach), Deniz Undav (Stuttgart).
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