Back available, essential for Empoli's final sprint. Albania calls Ismajli: injury recovered

Today theEmpoli will resume the allenamenti who will be all week at Petroio after the two days of rest granted by mister D'Aversa after the defeat in Turin last Saturday and in light of the championship break next weekend. There will be six Azzurri players who will not be available to the coach from Abruzzo because they have been called up by their respective National. In addition to Cacace, Goglichidze, Esposito, Seghetti and Konate, there is also Ardian IsmajliThe Albanian central defender, who returned to action in the match against Torino after having played one half in the Coppa Italia match against Juventus ten days earlier, was in fact called up for the first qualifying matches for the 2026 World who will see theAlbania busy next Friday in England and the following Monday at home against Romania.

Naturally, the hope in the Azzurri's house is that no one comes back injured, especially Ismaili who has already missed half of the matches played by Empoli in the second half of the season. The presence of the former Spezia player was too important for the final sprint. The numbers also show it: with Ismajli on the pitch, Empoli conceded 28 goals in 22 and a half matches, given that against Juventus in the league they left at the start of the second half with the team still leading 1-0, at an average of 1,2 goals conceded per game. From the second half of the match against the Turin Bianconeri, where they conceded 4 goals, without Ismajli the Azzurri have conceded 16 goals in 5 and a half matches, with the average rising by more than one goal per game (2,6 per match). Meanwhile, today Fat he is undergoing surgery on his left hand for a fractured fifth metatarsal. But he will be available again soon.

If on the left Viti (between having him and not having him there is a big difference anyway) can also be replaced by a Cacace who is increasingly confident in this role and on the right Marianucci or De Sciglio can be worth the current Goglichidze (a distant relative of the one admired in the first part of the season), it is precisely the experience and personality of Ismaili at the centre of the defence that Empoli cannot do without now.