Report: Lorenzo Pellegrini Suffers Broken Foot

Lorenzo Pellegrini is reportedly out for several weeks, at a minimum, with a fractured metatarsal in his right foot. It comes as a severe blow to Roma getting out of the starting blocks of this Serie A season, as Pellegrini has been at the centre of almost everything creative coming for Roma on the pitch. His recovery could take as little as three weeks, though it’s more likely it’ll take over a month for the Roman midfielder to regain full fitness.

Pastore or Mkhitaryan to Replace Pellegrini in the Hole?

Pellegrini learned of the news after this morning’s scans at Villa Stuart. Fractured metatarsals sure aren’t what they used to be. Who could forget David Beckham’s rush to recover from a broken foot in time for England’s 2002 World Cup?

Perhaps a lot of people forget, but I remember that kept Beckham out for several months at the time. Nearly two decades later, and players can shrug off the fracture within a matter of weeks. But Roma can hardly see the bright side of losing their 23-year old creative midfielder, given Pellegrini’s early season form.

Photo by Giuseppe Maffia/NurPhoto via Getty Images

The Roman midfielder may be accused of giving the ball away in looking for that killer pass, but boy does he find killer passes when Pellegrini is put in the right area of the field. He’s one of the fastest players with the ball and Pellegrini is crucial to speeding up Roma’s play. In his absence, Roma may indeed look to the umpteenth rejuvenation of Javier Pastore or choose to move Henrikh Mkhitaryan into the middle of the pitch.

Cetin, Zappacosta, Ünder and Perotti’s Extra Monday Training

Photo by Francesco Pecoraro/Getty Images

Pellegrini joins Mert Cetin, Davide Zappacosta, Cengiz Ünder and Diego Perotti in the Roma medical room. All these players (except Pellegrini) are actually doing their own personal training routine on the Trigoria pitch today, working to complete their recovery while the rest of the squad takes a Monday break after the weekend’s win over Lecce.

By the middle of October, Roma may have everyone back in the squad ready to play once more, with the exception of Perotti and Pellegrini - both scheduled for a return to full training towards the very end of October.