Pavard returns, Lautaro still missing for Inter’s trip to Feyenoord

That is the immediate personnel picture as Inter try to steady themselves after the 3-1 derby defeat to Milan. Pavard’s return gives Cristian Chivu one more senior option at the back at a moment when Inter would probably have preferred a quieter week.

Football Italia, citing reports from Gianluca Di Marzio, said Pavard completed the full session with the squad on Monday. The 30-year-old had been out since suffering an adductor injury in mid-October, after working his way back into Chivu’s first-team plans following his 2025-26 loan spell at Marseille.

The bigger absence remains up front. Lautaro, Inter’s captain and leading scorer, has missed the last four league matches with a hamstring injury and is still not expected back for Feyenoord. When that player is missing, everything else tightens a little. Attacks have less margin for error, and any lapse at the other end carries more weight.

Football Italia also reported that Curtis Jones, John Stones and Luis Henrique are expected to miss the Feyenoord match through injury. So this is not an Inter squad in full working order, even if Pavard’s return softens the picture.

A defender coming back does not solve the obvious issue of goals without Lautaro. It does, however, matter in a European away game where the first requirement is often to avoid giving the night away cheaply. Pavard’s availability gives Inter one less problem to manage, which is not the same as saying the problems are gone.