Article by Aurelian Botezatu – Published Monday, January 12, 2026, 08:05 / Updated Monday, January 12, 2026 08:08
Hakan Calhanoglu (31 years old) was injured and Cristi Chivu had to replace him at the end of the match Inter – Naples 2-2.
Hakan Calhanoglu scored Inter's second goal in the duel with champions Napoli, from a perfectly executed penalty. But he didn't last long, and Cristi Chivu took him off the field in the 87th minute due to an injury.
Cristi Chivu didn't want to risk with Hakan Calhanoglu anymore, after he was wrong about Marcus Thuram
Asked at the press conference about the problem of the Turkish international, the Inter technician was evasive. “Calhanoglu? I don't know, it's fatigue. The last time I said something, I said that Thuram has a cramp. It's better if I keep quiet…”, commented Chivu.
At the beginning of October, Thuram was injured in the match against Sparta Prague in the single group of the Champions League again following the Romanian coach's statement, the doctors determined that he actually has an injury to the thigh of his left leg. The French international then stayed for a month and missed several important matches, being a real blow for Chivu.
As for Calhanoglu, a first diagnosis came late in the night. According to the publication “fcinternews.it”, the Turkish midfielder is said to have opted for a calf sprain: “He will undergo additional tests on Monday.”
Hakan Calhanoglu enters the calculations for the Turkey-Romania tie
Calhanoglu's situation also interests us, as he is included in the calculations of the selector Vincenzo Montella for the qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup, with the “tricolors”, a match scheduled in Istanbul on March 26.
In October 2025, the 31-year-old midfielder ticked off his 100th selection in the Semiluna national teamat 6-1 with Bulgaria in the WC 2026 preliminaries. Since then, he has added 2 more selections to this milestone and has a total of 102.
