Sitting in first place, with a bevy of talented new faces and one of the most heralded managers of the past decade leading the way, it feels like AS Roma has finally turned the page to a new era. Time will tell just how successful Gian Piero Gasperini group will ultimately become, but thanks to a series of shrewd moves over the past 18 months, the malaise that has engulfed the club for much of the 2020s is slowly receding.
However, as quickly as these leaders of tomorrow have asserted themselves in
the hierarchy, there’s no denying the fact that Roma three senatori, Gianluca Mancini, Bryan Cristante, and former captain Lorenzo Pellegrini, remain essential ingredients in Roma’s recipe for success. Admittedly, the calls for change have grown louder in recent seasons, but they combined to make 124 appearances in all competitions, with Cristante and Mancini logging nearly 7,500 combined minutes in 2025-2026.
And were it not for a nagging hamstring that kept him out of 10 games last season (and the first five this year), Pellegrini could have pushed that combined total past a whopping 10,000 minutes. However, as the old saying goes, Father Time is undefeated. We’ve already seen Cristante succumb to the ravages of a decade of non-stop football, as Roma’s current captain is slated to miss several weeks with a balky knee, but there is good news on the injury horizon for the Giallorossi.
According to multiple sources in Italy, including Leggo and the Gazzetta dello Sport, Pellegrini is poised to return to the pitch for the first time since last April. And not only that, those same sources also suggest he may be in line to start against Como on Sunday, supplanting Matías Soulé and/or Rodrigo Mora in Gasperini’s XI.
Now, before you go flipping your lid, this unlikely start has as much to do with Soulé and Mora’s late return from international duty as anything else. Still, if recent history has taught us anything, it’s this: Pellegrini, much like Cristante and Mancini, has shown an incredible knack for sticking around.
Barring a last-minute change of heart from Gasperini, Pellegrini starting from the jump against one of Roma’s chief rivals this season will surely spark controversy. However, if we focus on the positives, Pellegrini’s return gives Gasperini additional depth ahead of a murderer’s row of fixtures over the next six weeks, including matches against Como, Real Madrid, Napoli, Manchester United, Paris Saint-Germain, and even plucky upstarts like Udinese and Cagliari.
While we wait for kickoff against Como this weekend, tell us what you think: Should Pellegrini be dropped back into the starting lineup, or is he best used as a second-half sub?
