Atalanta's injury crisis deepens as Elmas suspension compounds Milan test
A 3-1 win over Venezia left Atalanta facing fresh fitness worries over Bellanova and Scalvini, while a late red card for Elmas rules him out of Sunday's trip to Milan.
Atalanta's victory over Venezia carried a cost that could shape the next fortnight of their season. Raoul Bellanova and Giorgio Scalvini were both substituted through injury in the same minute, and Eljif Elmas will serve a suspension that keeps him out of Sunday's game against Milan at San Siro.
According to Football Italia, which cited TuttoMercatoWeb, Bellanova and Scalvini both suffered muscle problems and were replaced together in the 67th minute, with Lorenzo Bernasconi and Sead Kolasinac sent on in their place. Both players are due to undergo medical tests in the coming hours to determine the severity of the issues.
Two defensive pillars pulled at once
Losing a full-back and a centre-back in the same substitution is rarely a coincidence of timing alone; it usually signals a coaching staff unwilling to risk a muscular problem worsening in a game already won. Maurizio Sarri's willingness to withdraw both players simultaneously suggests the medical staff flagged concern in real time rather than waiting for full-time.
The timing matters tactically as much as physically. Scalvini had featured in every minute of Atalanta's league season before this match, according to Football Italia, making him one of the few defensive constants in a campaign otherwise disrupted by results. His withdrawal removes a player who has effectively been an ever-present at the back, and replacing that kind of continuity at short notice is rarely seamless, whatever quality sits on the bench.
Bellanova's injury adds a second layer of concern on the opposite flank. Full-backs in Sarri's structure are often asked to provide width and overlap in buildup, so losing one mid-match forces in-game adjustments to how the team progresses the ball into the final third. Kolasinac and Bernasconi were the players trusted to absorb those roles against Venezia, but neither is a like-for-like swap in profile or experience at this level.
Elmas suspension strips Sarri of another option
Eljif Elmas compounded the afternoon's problems with an indiscipline that will have consequences beyond this fixture. He was initially shown a yellow card for a reckless challenge in the 89th minute, but the referee, Paride Tremolada, was called to review the incident on the pitch-side monitor and upgraded the punishment to a straight red, Football Italia reported.
That dismissal means Elmas is unavailable for the visit to Milan, managed by Ruben Amorim, on Sunday. Losing a midfielder who can operate in multiple positions removes tactical flexibility precisely when Sarri may already need to reshuffle his back line because of the Bellanova and Scalvini situations.
The disciplinary context sharpens the blow. Atalanta had just ended a run of three consecutive defeats with the win over Venezia, Football Italia noted, and Sarri will want continuity of selection and momentum rather than enforced changes across multiple lines of the team. Instead, he now has to replace a suspended midfielder and potentially two defenders inside the same week.
A congested calendar leaves no room to recover
The scheduling makes the situation harder to manage. Atalanta face Pafos in the Conference League on Thursday, part of a sequence Football Italia described as eight matches in 24 days. That density of fixtures limits the time available for muscle injuries to heal properly and increases the temptation to rush players back before they are ready, a decision that can create recurring problems rather than resolving the original one.
Sarri's immediate task is to establish, from the medical tests on Bellanova and Scalvini, whether either can be risked against Pafos or whether both should be rested with Milan in mind instead. Given Scalvini's status as a virtual ever-present in defence this season, his availability for the Milan fixture will likely carry extra weight in that decision.
The trip to San Siro now looks considerably more demanding than it did before kick-off against Venezia. Atalanta go into it without Elmas through suspension and with uncertainty hanging over two defenders whose fitness will only become clear once the test results are known.