Inter boss Roberto Mancini is considering relegating star striker Adriano to the bench for Sunday’s derby against Milan.
The Brazilian is the club’s top scorer this term but he hasn’t added to his 14 League goals since December 12.
Mancio has kept faith with the forward despite his recent injury problems and transfer speculation linking him with Real Madrid.
But Mancio is now pondering his options ahead of the derby, a game that Inter must win to keep their slim title hopes alive.
The tactician is seriously thinking about playing with a strike pair of Obafemi Martins and Christian Vieri.
Martins has been in splendid form recently and again impressed on Wednesday in the Champions’ League.
The Nigerian scored in the 1-1 draw at the Dragao Stadium, making it almost impossible for him to be ignored at the weekend.
Vieri, meanwhile, is relatively fresh after he played just 10 minutes as a substitute in Portugal.
Martins and Vieri have linked up well in the past, which suggests that Adriano will be used as a luxury substitute on Sunday.
Inter go into the game a massive 11 points behind Milan and Juventus but Mancini continues to insist that they are still Scudetto contenders.
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Thats good news, resting Adriano