Why Sofyan Amrabat has been benched by Fiorentina despite World Cup heroics
By Sean Walsh
Fiorentina manager Vincenzo Italiano has explained why World Cup star Sofyan Amrabat has scarcely played since returning from Morocco duty.
Amrabat was one of the best performers at this winter's tournament, headlining the Atlas Lions' historic run to the semi-finals.
90min understands Premier League duo Liverpool and Tottenham are both interested in signing Amrabat. Spurs came close to taking the midfielder on an initial loan this time last year, but Fiorentina are believed to be holding out for a permanent deal this time around.
However, since returning to club action, Amrabat has played 26 minutes of a possible 180 for Fiorentina, coming off the bench in a draw with Monza but remaining on it in Saturday's win against Sassuolo. Viola boss Italiano was quizzed about Amrabat's playing time at a recent press conference.
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"Amrabat arrived from the World Cup totally wrecked, he needs time to calm down," he said.
"He finished that tournament with pain-killing injections allowing him to even play. He’s still carrying issues from that, had only four training sessions with us and he himself confirmed to me he can’t play 90 minutes.
"I could’ve put him on [against Sassuolo], but I didn’t want to risk it. When he is back to 100 per cent, he will be a real added bonus for us."