With fixtures coming quickly as we wrap up the first full month of the season, Roma’s injury woes will start to weigh heavily on Gian Piero Gasperini’s match preparation. In years past, the Giallorossi were hampered by a litany of significant injuries, so let’s be thankful that the club’s injury list is populated mainly by minor aches and sprains. Still, with Roma’s margin for error as narrow as ever, Gasperini’s group will need all the support it can get as they head into the deep end of the fixture list.
Unfortunately, the capital club will remain short-handed as they host Verona on Sunday. Earlier this month, when discussing Leon Bailey’s return to the team after suffering a muscular injury in his first training session with the squad in August, there was hope that the former Aston Villa winger could debut against the Mastiffs. However, with kickoff two days away, the Jamaican international continues to train individually, likely delaying his Serie A debut another week.
In another brush of disappointing news, Roma’s attacking maestro, Paulo Dybala, remains sidelined with a hamstring injury—the latest in a long line of muscular injuries for the 31-year-old Argentine ace. After rupturing a tendon last spring, Dybala returned to action in late August, participating in the club’s first three league matches this season. While there was faint hope La Joya would return sooner rather than later, he continues to train individually, with an eye on returning to the pitch in early October.
While Gasperini would undoubtedly prefer to have both Dybala and Bailey at his disposal, there’s no shame in slow playing their returns—it’s a long season, after all.
Stick with us this weekend as we preview Serie A’s clash of canines!
