Gasperini will have to deal with a large number of absences when Roma hosts Sassuolo on Saturday.
“As for the team, Wesley’s not ok today. We’ll see tomorrow. He has strong flu-like symptoms but we hope we can recover. Apart from that, we’ll be without [Bryan] Cristante through suspension. We’ll have [Gianluca] Mancini and [Mario] Hermoso back but we’ve lost [Artem] Dovbyk. It certainly is an emergency situation, as it has been for a few games now.”
Those were the injury updates from Gian Piero Gasperini during his pre-match press conference ahead of Roma’s match against Sassuolo on Saturday. Mancini and Hermoso’s returns mean that 2/3 of Roma’s regular defense is again available, after Roma played without that duo and Ndicka against Lecce.
Although Roma gets defensive reinforcements, it suffers big losses in midfield and on the wing due to Cristante’s suspension and Wesley being under the weather. Also joining them on the sidelines is Dovbyk after he scored on Tuesday. Throw in the injuries to Lorenzo Pellegrini, Leon Bailey, and Tommaso Baldanzi, along with the AFCON absences of Ndicka and Neil El-Aynaoui, and Roma has a quick list of unavailable players. Plus, Angeliño remains sidelined—something Gasperini remains vague about.
“This is a medical issue that must remain confidential. It’s a health matter too. Any news should only be given by the doctors. All we can do is hope he gets well and then can play.”
Given all of the absences, Gasperini’s choices will be limited in some positions. With Mancini and Hermoso back, Gasperini will return to the back three from the Atalanta match with those two and Jan Ziolkowski. That will allow Zeki Çelik to return to right wing back. Meanwhile, Kostas Tsimikas could get a rare start on the opposite flank.
In the center of the park, it’ll be Manu Koné and Niccoló Pisilli. Evan Ferguson is expected to lead the line after his opening goal in Puglia. And he’ll have the Argentine duo Paulo Dybala and Matías Soulé in support.
ROMA (3-4-2-1): Svilar; Mancini, Ziolkowski, Hermoso; Çelik, Pisilli, Koné, Tsimikas; Soulé, Dybala; Ferguson.
Category: General Sports
