De Rossi Out Two Weeks & Other Bullets

World Cup Qualifying is a necessary evil, of course, but its also an annoyance, especially after the master class Roma put on against Inter last week. To tide you over and to keep the conversation flowing, we present you with the latest happenings in the Roma universe

• Daniele DeRossi will be sidelined for approximately two weeks with what is known in the medical profession as a "thigh strain". DeRossi's balls-to-the-wall style seems to produce these sort of knocks every year, though the fact that this one happened against Bulgaria, of all opponents, makes it more of a ‘smh' situation. DDR figures to be out for the Bologna, Cagliari, Sampdoria and possibly the first Juve match of the season on September 29^th. I suppose having DDR on your team is like owning a sports car, you're gonna get a lot of horsepower, you're gonna turn a lot of heads, but you'll probably get pulled over a lot too.
• Leandro Castan is out for Bologna as well, suffering some soreness in his right patellar tendon. So, for those of you keeping score at home, no De Rossi, no Bradley, no Castan and no Balzaretti next week, perhaps longer. We're gonna need some goals, to say the least.
• Mattia Destro knows what he likes: avant-garde hair styles and a central role in attack. While he says that he has struggled in his early attempts at playing out wide, he readily admits that he is a young player and will do what he is told. Bravo to Mattia for accepting his place in the pecking order and realizing that playing out of position is better than not playing at all. His time will surely come, but for now, he needs to adapt.
• Even though he tried his hardest to rip the heart out of the team, Roberto Mancini has tipped Roma, along with Juventus and Napoli, as the odds on favorite to capture the Scudetto.
• Lastly, Giuseppe Rossi reportedly wants to work with Zdenek Zeman, so much so that his agent claims Rossi recently approved a move to Roma, one which (obviously) has yet to come to fruition. You know the deal, Rossi, 25, hasn't played since October of 2011 and the best estimates would see his return to the pitch in late February 2013. The question, of course, is will he be worth the gamble when he returns? He's still a bit of a polarizing figure in American soccer circles, so don't assume that connection makes this an automatic move, but he's still relatively young and was quite the rising star before his spate of injuries.