Roma host Pisa at the Olimpico on Friday with some long-awaited relief in sight, as Gian Piero Gasperini said Gianluca Mancini could be back as early as next week and Wesley may not be far behind.
The Roma coach said both players are progressing positively and that their setbacks were less serious than others in a season that has been repeatedly interrupted by injuries. He said Paulo Dybala is doing pretty decently but is less predictable, adding that he would give the forward a week or two before expecting a clearer picture.
Gasperini put the club’s struggles in blunt terms. He said Roma have been dealing with long-term injuries involving Evan Ferguson, Leon Bailey, Artem Dovbyk, Dybala and Matias Soule, and that the damage has been felt since the end of December. Mario Hermoso has also had muscular problems recently, while other players have missed time with broken noses, masks and general aches and pains.
That list helps explain why Roma’s form dipped. Gasperini said the team suffered a slump in part because of the ongoing injury crisis, and he pointed to a squad that has had to keep shuffling pieces for months. Ghilardi has played a lot, Vaz has played more at Roma than at Marseille, and El Aynaoui has not featured much lately since the Africa Cup of Nations, though Gasperini said he had been carrying something and is now in good shape.
Even so, the coach suggested the return to full strength will not be instant. He said El Aynaoui did very well during a spell before the Africa Cup of Nations, but indicated that neither he nor Vaz nor Zaragoza looks likely to start against Pisa. For Roma, the immediate significance of Friday is not only the result but whether the squad can finally begin to come back together after a stretch of absences that has stretched its depth and narrowed Gasperini’s choices.
