Milan boosted by Kaka saga, says Ancelotti

Coach Carlo Ancelotti is confident Milan will show they have been boosted by the Kaka saga at Bologna tomorrow after Manchester City failed with a massive bid to lure away the Brazil playmaker.

"Starting again in Bologna after the Kaka affair gives us enthusiasm and a different charge," Ancelotti told the Serie A club's website (www.acmilan.com) after Kaka came off the bench to help them beat Hanover 3-2 in a friendly on Wednesday.

Last Saturday's 1-0 win over Fiorentina at the San Siro had the flavour of a goodbye, with players queuing up to embrace the Brazilian at the end of the match and fans showing banners and singing chants pleading the 26-year-old to stay.

Milan's travelling support will be in a very different mood this weekend, after the club said on Monday that the 2007 Ballon d'Or winner and FIFA world player of the year is staying.

Captain Paolo Maldini said that Kaka's loss would have hit the title hopes of third-placed Milan, who narrowed the gap on leaders Inter to six points with victory over Fiorentina.

"We are all really happy," Maldini told the club's in-house TV channel.

"It would have been a big blow to lose Ricardo (Kaka) after having recovered three points on Inter. There aren't any players comparable to Ricardo, who has given so much to this team and can really become a symbol of Milan."

Kaka helped Milan win the Serie A title in his first season after moving from Sao Paulo in 2003 and he was the driving force behind their seventh European Cup triumph in 2007.

Ancelotti will be without the suspended Marek Jankulovski for the trip to Bologna, who are hard to beat despite their low position in the standings (16th) and stunned Milan 2-1 at the San Siro on the opening day of the season.

Inter will be without suspended Sweden forward Zlatan Ibrahimovic tomorrow night when they entertain Sampdoria in the late kick-off.

Their advantage over second-placed Juventus has dropped from six points to three over the last two league games, a 1-1 draw with Cagliari and last week's dismal 3-1 defeat at Atalanta, when the champions were lucky not to lose by a bigger margin.

Coach Jose Mourinho hopes to have stopped the rot with Wednesday's 2-1 win in the Italian Cup over holders Roma, which booked his side a semi-final meeting with Sampdoria.

"We showed that we are a team," he told Rai television.

"The players responded very well to Sunday's negative performance and did their talking on the field."

Goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon is set to return to league action for Juventus against Fiorentina in Turin tonight but the second-placed side remain short handed because of bans and injuries.

Defender Cristian Molinaro and midfielder Momo Sissoko are suspended, while the long list of unfit players is expected to include centre-back Giorgio Chiellini and winger Mauro Camoranesi, who are battling to overcome thigh muscle and calf problems.

Buffon's return to Serie A from three months out with a leg injury was delayed last week because of a bout of flu he suffered after playing in an Italian Cup win over Catania.

Captain Francesco Totti may return to resurgent Roma's squad for tomorrow's visit to Napoli as he is back in training with his team-mates after suffering a thigh muscle injury in December. Totti scored four goals in a practice match in midweek, media said.