Inter were forced to leave Hakan Calhanoglu out of the squad for the match against Udinese, with the midfielder not even making the bench for the 20:45 kickoff at San Siro. The absence was confirmed on matchday, turning a pre-match hint from Cristian Chivu into a concrete setback for the team.
Chivu had said before the game that the squad list would answer the last questions around availability, and it did. Dimarco was fit, Spence was working back toward full match sharpness, and Calhanoglu was the surprise absentee because of muscle fatigue in the adductors of his thigh.
That detail matters because the issue was described as not serious, yet still serious enough to keep him in the stands. Inter did not place him among the substitutes, a clear sign that the club did not want to take any risk with a problem that had already interrupted his rhythm this season.
There is a reason the absence landed now. Calhanoglu had ended last season with a muscle problem, then went to the World Cup and played through pain for Turkey. He had only recently started to build minutes again, without going much beyond around 60 minutes, so another stop-start spell would be a setback for a player Inter rely on to control matches.
Inter said further assessments would take place over the coming days, which leaves his next appearance unresolved rather than ruled out. The next league game comes next Saturday, 19 September, at 18:00 against Roma at the Stadio Olimpico, and that is the first date that will tell the club whether the cautious approach has bought time or merely delayed a larger problem.
