Santiago Giménez is back and aiming for the 2026 World Cup

Santiago Giménez is back. Three months before the World Cup, “Santi” returned to the pitch after overcoming the right ankle injury that sidelined him for five months. Giménez played a few minutes in Milan’s 3-2 victory over Torino in Serie A and now needs to regain match fitness ahead of the tournament.

Giménez had not played since 28 October 2025. Five months passed before the Mexican forward was seen on the pitch again for Milan. A right ankle injury, which required arthroscopic surgery in December, kept him out for an extended period, but the striker has now returned.

The positive news arrived before the match against Torino, when Santiago Giménez was included in the squad again. After receiving medical clearance, the striker was able to play a few minutes in the game.

His return came at San Siro, where he entered the pitch in the 78th minute, replacing Christian Pulisic. His involvement was limited, as Giménez had few touches of the ball due to the state of the match, which ended in a narrow victory for Milan. The most notable moments were simply his return to action and a yellow card he received towards the end of the game.

Giménez is now fully fit. However, he will not join the Mexican national team during the March FIFA international break. Both the Mexican national team and AC Milan agreed that Santiago would not be called up for the matches against Portugal and Belgium, allowing him to remain in Italy and regain match fitness as quickly as possible.

As a result, Giménez is not expected to appear again for Mexico until June, when Javier Aguirre will decide whether to include the Milan striker in the squad for the 2026 World Cup.

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