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Struggling Milan playmaker Ronaldinho needs more time to rediscover his best form, Rossoneri great Franco Baresi has said.

The Brazilian looks poised to be available for Wednesday's Serie A trip to Udinese having missing Sunday's patchy 1-0 win over Bologna because of flu. He was also dropped for last week's 2-1 Champions League win at Olympique Marseille.

"I think Ronaldinho can still be important for this Milan. We are at the start of the season, each match is a different story," said Baresi, 49.

The former Italy and Milan defender, known as one of the greatest centre backs to play the game, believes Ronaldinho understands that new coach Leonardo needs to rotate his squad.

"Ronaldinho forms part of a group of players and the coach chooses who is playing well, who is the best. For Ronaldinho I don't think it's a problem," he said.

The 29-year-old endured a difficult first season at the San Siro last term where the flashes of brilliance that marked his early career at Barcelona were few and far between.

The sale of Kaka to Real Madrid has given Ronaldinho the chance to take centre stage at Milan this season but apart from the opening day win at Siena, he has failed to impress.

With Juventus winning all four matches this season ahead of Thursday's game at Genoa, Milan are already five points behind the leaders having not won the scudetto since 2004.

Champions Inter, who host Napoli on Wednesday, are three above Milan but Baresi believes last week's victory in Marseille in the Champions League opener has boosted confidence.

"We are at the start of the season. They can only get better. Against Marseille they played a great game with a great result.

"This has spurred on the team, which was important after a few average results," he said. "We hope to improve as quickly as possible."

Reuters