Strahinja Pavlovic will miss Milan’s Europa League meeting with Ferencvaros on Thursday after the club decided to rest the Serbia international.
The match begins at San Siro at 17.45 GMT (18.45 CET), but Pavlovic is not expected to be included in the squad and will not be among the substitutes.
Reports from Sky Sport Italia, Milan Press and other outlets say the 25-year-old defender was absent from Milan’s training session on Wednesday. His omission is not related to an injury.
Milan are already without several players for the fixture, including Fikayo Tomori, Matteo Gabbia, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Samuel Chukwueze, Alexis Saelemaekers and Pietro Terracciano. Goalkeeper Mike Maignan is also unavailable because he is suspended.
However, Pavlovic’s absence does not represent another injury concern for coach Ruben Amorim’s team. The decision to leave him out was made because of the defender’s workload during the season.
Pavlovic has played 97 per cent of Milan’s football so far this campaign. He has started all 10 of the club’s Serie A matches and each of their three Europa League games.
The only occasion on which he has been substituted came in the 81st minute of Milan’s 4-0 win over RB Salzburg on October 15.
His total playing time has reached 1,161 minutes, more than any other Milan player this season, including Maignan.
That workload has led the coaching staff to give Pavlovic several days away from match action rather than risk placing further demands on him during a period when the squad is already dealing with a number of absences.
Pavlovic’s previous failure to start a match came in February 2026, when Milan suffered a 1-0 home defeat by Parma.
He will therefore watch Thursday’s game from outside the matchday squad, with Milan continuing their Europa League campaign without one of their most frequently used players.
