Inter Milan are eager to hand a debut to Djed Spence, according to La Gazzetta dello Sport, with the England right-back set to line up against Parma at San Siro when the season resumes after the international break.
Spence has been sidelined by injury since his summer move from Tottenham Hotspur, a deal worth around €30 million including add-ons, signed as a replacement for Denzel Dumfries, who left for Real Madrid. He played all eight of England's games at this summer's World Cup, including the third-place play-off win over France.
Gazzetta reports that Spence will keep training alongside Inter's other injured players for the rest of this week, before joining the main group at Appiano Gentile from Monday, once he is fully fit. Whether he starts against Parma or comes on as a substitute will depend on how he responds during the training days that remain before the game, but the club are keen to get the £30 million signing on the pitch and see him challenge for the right-back spot.
Hakan Çalhanoğlu's situation is more delicate. The Turkish midfielder, who dictates Inter's tempo from the centre of the pitch as well as scoring from distance and from the penalty spot, has been troubled by frequent injuries over the past two seasons that have cost his coaches key appearances.
Gazzetta says he trained in the gym again on Sunday as he works to recover from an adductor problem, and that he wants to be available for the Parma game himself. Head coach Cristian Chivu is urging caution, though, with the priority being to avoid a recurrence of the kind of injury that has previously ruled Çalhanoğlu out for longer spells.
It is still too early to put a precise timeline on his return, but Gazzetta describes the signs as positive.