Since the debacle against Nice on September 20, where he came on during the game, Mickaël Nadé has established himself as an indisputable starter in the eyes of Olivier Dall'Oglio. He forms the central hinge of the Greens with Dylan Batubinsika. He thus played the last six matches of AS Saint-Etienne as a starter and all in full.
Mickaël Nadé will miss a month of competition
Unfortunately for him and his club, he was injured on Sunday evening during the derby. Olivier Dall'Oglio then gave his news after the meeting and was quite worried. Finally, the verdict fell on Tuesday and Mickaël Nadé suffered from an external sprain of the lateral ligament in his right knee. His unavailability is estimated at one month.
As we are in the middle of the international break, the Franco-Ivorian defender will miss at least the Greens' next three matches. Namely the reception in Montpellier, on November 23, the trip to Rennes, on November 30, as well as the reception in Marseille, on December 8. He could return on December 15 for the trip to Toulouse, which is ASSE's last match of the year.
An experienced central defender
Olivier Dall'Oglio will therefore have to find a replacement for him over the next few weeks. Several options are available to him. First there is the most logical, which is to relaunch Yunis Abdelhamid. This former Reims executive lost his place to Mickaël Nadé in recent weeks.
The ASSE news site, Peuple Vert, has also thought of other solutions. The French coach could also try the option, Anthony Briançon. Injured since the start of the season, the central defender is very close to a return and he could fall at the best of times.
Holder for a large part of last season, the former Nîmes also has experience in Ligue 1 and was already associated last season with Dylan Batubinsika. It remains to know his physical condition so as not to take any risks, after his knee injury.
The temptation Léo Pétrot
Olivier Dall'Oglio could also be tempted by a tenure in Léo Pétrot's left axis. Used as a left back this season by the Saint-Etienne coach, he nonetheless remains a trained central defender. He already helped out in central defense under the colors of ASSE last season, playing six matches as a starter.
This would also allow the French technician to relaunch Pierre Cornud at the left-back position, who recently returned from injury. He was particularly fit during the derby last weekend but did not come into play. He started at the start of the season in the left lane with the Greens, before getting injured.
Pierre Ekwah in central defense?
Finally, there is also the solution of moving Pierre Ekwah down one rank. The French midfielder, who has been indisputable in a defensive midfielder role since his arrival at the very end of the summer transfer window, can also play in central defense.
In his career, he has played ten games in this position but that dates back to the 2018-2019 season, where he played with the Chelsea U18s and the France U16 team. Seeing Olivier Dall'Oglio bring him back down to central defense with his performances in midfield, his lack of reference points in this position and the options mentioned above seems unlikely.
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