Kalinic and Cristante Could Miss Months Due to Injury

Just this weekend it looked like Roma might finally have some good news on the injury front: Javier Pastore was fit for the first time all season and Edin Dzeko made the match day squad after initially being ruled at three weeks. That was until the seventh minute on Sunday against Sampdoria when Bryan Cristante grabbed his right groin. Cristante was immediately replaced by Javier Pastore, and just like that Roma’s thinnest position got a bit thinner.

Reports released this morning on Cristante are not good—It has been reported by the club that Cristante tore his right groin.

A course of action now has to be decided for the Italian international’s recovery. The options include conservative therapy or surgery. Either way this looks to be another prolonged absence for Roma in the midfield. Initial projections have him out for three months.

Cristante will join Lorenzo Pellegrini and Amadou Diawara on the trainer’s table, leaving Jordan Veretout as the only healthy midfielder. That means more time in the double pivot for Javier Pastore and possibly Davide Santon. Fonseca confirmed the defender was training there even before Cristante’s injury.

The injury bug didn't stop biting Roma there either. Later in the first half, Nikola Kalinic, who started because of Dzeko’s injury woes, began hobbling after a rough tackle. The Croatian tried to continue, but was resigned to come off just before the half.

What was initially being reported by many outlets as an MCL issue in Kalinic’s knee, looks to be a fracture instead. The official medical report from the club is a fracture at the top of Kalikic’s fibula. The club states that a course of therapy has already been outlined.

With the severity of the issue, it looks like Kalinic could potentially miss two months. With Dzeko still on the mend from his fractured cheek bone, the striker position looks just as thin as midfield.

Cristante and Kalinic join Pellegrini, Zappacosta, Mhkatarian, Diawara, and Ünder on the sidelines. Throw Justin Kluivert’s red card into the mix and Roma will have an even thinner roster for Sunday’s match against Milan, which follows Europe League action Thursday. Fonseca may have to get very creative with his lineup and pray nobody else goes down. The list is already too long.