If you polled fans of any major football club, most would probably agree that the international break rarely comes at a good time. Whether your club is riding a heater and risks losing momentum or coming off a tough result and now has to sit and stew for two weeks, these forced pauses can come at a cost. Roma finds itself caught between those two extremes during this break, riding the high of an 18-match unbeaten streak in Italy while licking the wounds of two high-profile Champions League collapses.
Despite that awkward existence, good news is on the horizon, and it involves two of the club’s most important players, Paulo Dybala and Mile Svilar. While his scoring touch has vanished this season, Dybala has seemingly turned back the clock this fall, stringing together a series of performances reminiscent of his Juventus peak.
However, despite that fine form, Dybala’s injury history finally caught up with him, as the 32-year-old playmaker has been sidelined for the past month with a calf injury. While Gian Piero Gasperini has adapted well enough, using increasingly heavy doses of Matías Soulé and Rodrigo Mora, Roma is set to welcome Dybala back to the fold.
According to Il Messaggero, Dybala is poised to return to action when Roma squares off against Parma next week, but he won’t be the only familiar face returning after an extended absence. Svilar, sidelined for nearly six weeks with a fractured toe, could make his long-awaited return to the pitch next Sunday, ending Pierluigi Gollini’s intermezzo between the sticks.
With another busy slate of fixtures coming up between Parma on the 21st and the winter recess on December 19th, Roma will need all hands on deck as they attempt to keep pace with Inter and Lazio at the top of the table, to say nothing of advancing in the Champions League.
