Inter Face Udinese Without Lautaro and Calhanoglu

Inter welcomed Udinese to San Siro on Monday evening for a Serie A clash that kicked off at 20:45, with the home side forced into significant changes to their starting eleven.

The most notable absence was that of Lautaro Martínez, Inter's captain and top striker, who was ruled out of the matchday squad entirely. Midfielder Hakan Calhanoglu, widely known as Calha, was also unavailable for selection.

Calhanoglu's absence was particularly striking, as he was not even named among the substitutes. Instead, he watched the match from the tribune, the area reserved for spectators rather than players, underlining the severity of whatever issue kept him out.

To compensate for these losses, Inter's coaching staff made several adjustments to the starting XI. Henrikh Mkhitaryan was brought into the side, offering experience in an attacking midfield role, while a forward known as Pio was given a starting berth alongside Marcus Thuram in attack.

Piotr Zieliński was deployed in the deep-lying midfield position often referred to as the regista, a role that involves dictating the tempo of the game and initiating attacking moves from deep. His inclusion suggests Inter's coach wanted a reliable passer at the base of midfield to offset the loss of Calhanoglu, who often performs similar duties.

Federico Dimarco, typically a first-choice player on the left side, began the match among the reserves, meaning he was available to be introduced later in the game rather than starting from the first minute.

The reshuffled lineup reflects the depth Inter's squad has had to draw on this season, as the club navigates injuries or other absences affecting key personnel. How effectively these replacements perform against Udinese will likely influence discussions about squad rotation and depth as the season progresses.

Further details on the match result and performances were not included in the available information, though the changes to the starting lineup were confirmed ahead of kick-off through official team announcements from the club.