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Given the clamor with which he was welcomed back to Roma, much was expected from Leandro Paredes this season, particularly after his impressive stint with Empoli. However, with Daniele De Rossi, Radja Nainggolan and Kevin Strootman ahead of him on the depth charts, our Lovely Leo found playing time a bit hard to come by. And while he’s gone through the usual swoons of youth, Paredes has started to assert himself in recent weeks, particularly in the Europa League.
Now, given that this is Roma, it’s only natural the he suffers an injury just has he’s rounding into form. According to the official club release, Paredes has suffered a high ankle sprain in his left leg.
Leandro Paredes had tests on Monday which revealed he has sustained a high ankle sprain in his left leg.
The Argentine midfielder, who spent last year on loan at Empoli, has made 15 appearances in all competitions and scored one goal for Roma this season.
His estimated recovery time is two to three weeks.
See? Told ya.
This is poor timing on two fronts. First, as we mentioned, Paredes was finally starting to find a niche within this squad, and second, with Lazio, Milan and Juventus on the docket, this is undoubtedly the toughest stretch of Roma’s season, and losing Paredes for any portion of that weakens an already exhausted midfield.
Without Paredes, look for the even younger Gerson to be thrown into the fire, for no other reason than lack of a better option. The more likely scenario will see Luciano Spalletti ride DDR, Strootman and Nainggolan into the ground over the next few weeks, though he can certainly mitigate that by playing with his formation, perhaps putting Diego Perotti or Francesco Totti in the playmaking spot of the 4-2-3-1, then rotating those three midfielders between the two double pivot spots, but that might require Juan Iturbe to play, so you can see Spalletti’s dilemma, right?
One thing is for certain, during a season in which Paredes’ role was up in the air, the fact that his absence will be palpable during this stretch is bitterly ironic.