Cristante sidelined by knee injury after 668 days without a Roma absence

Bryan Cristante will miss Roma's upcoming away fixture at Como with a knee problem that is expected to sideline him for 2-4 weeks and keep him absent from the opening matches after the international break. Marten de Roon, signed from Atalanta in the closing days of the transfer window, will step in as his replacement. The injury is a blow to Gasperini's preparations for the trip to the Sinigaglia. However, Roma will have unrestricted support at Como—it will be their first away match of the season without travel restrictions, allowing the full Roma contingent to attend without limitation. Gasperini indicated Roma's competitive standing, saying the club is close to the level of Inter.

Bryan Cristante will miss Roma's Serie A trip to Como after the international break due to a knee injury, with his availability for the subsequent Champions League match against Real Madrid remaining in doubt. The midfielder's absence comes at a crucial point in the season, with Real Madrid's visit to the Stadio Olimpico among the most anticipated fixtures of Roma's opening campaign. Gian Piero Gasperini and Roma CEO John Galantic were both present at the Festival dello Sport in Trento, where Galantic addressed the departure of a young academy prospect. Gasperini explained the reasoning behind the sale: "The fact that Romano was sold are financial requirements and balance-sheet needs. We have seen great clubs that have had to sell important young players to remedy balance-sheet situations. This is not a good thing for our football; the best jewels must have time and opportunity to grow." Galantic separately praised Matías Soulé, describing him as another product of Roma's youth academy. "It is a very interesting boy," he said. "It was unfortunate what happened last week: it seemed we had found the player who would fix the national team and then he was excessively criticised. Perhaps adults need to stay calm in their judgement. When I saw Soulé's goal I lost my head and understood nothing anymore… that is the beauty of sport." Galantic made his comments while attending the festival in Trento alongside Gasperini.

Gian Piero Gasperini addressed the Gazzetta dello Sport's Festival dello Sport in Trento, reflecting on his arrival at Roma and the squad's early development under his management. He described his first message to the players as the creation of something new from the ground up. "It's like when you do a new construction: you must lay new and different foundations straight away," Gasperini said. "We never spoke about my previous years. We had to build something new immediately, founded on concepts different from what many players were used to, but also what they expected from me and asked of me. Football can be played in many ways, but the first concept was to win the ball back from the opponent and not wait for him to make a mistake." Gasperini singled out the defensive group for particular praise, naming Gianluca Mancini and Mario Hermoso as standout performers but extending credit to goalkeeper Mile Svilar and Evan N'Dicka, who he said had been among Europe's best defenders for months. On Mancini, he revealed his approach: "I knew him when I was his opponent and I would think 'why is he so disagreeable?' and I immediately tried to tell him 'look, this penalises you, for many years you didn't go to the national team because of these attitudes.' That was the first thing I worked on." Mancini had "a fantastic season" and has since returned to the Italy squad. Hermoso, despite a difficult previous year, brought experience from Atlético Madrid's defensive discipline alongside Spanish quality and tactical knowledge. On Bryan Cristante, Gasperini explained his confidence in the midfielder despite early doubts. "I knew him as a young player. Very often in players you don't look at the 'control room'—personality, the way of playing for the squad and putting teammates' needs first—and that's something I've always considered," he said. "When I was at Atalanta we sold Gagliardini to Inter and he couldn't stand out. Sartori gave me his name, I met the young Beppe Riso and got to know this guy. He couldn't have lost his technical qualities. I spoke to him a lot and he convinced me. I was facing the right person, with motivation, and I hoped that footballistically he would come out and he did." Cristante has suffered a knee injury but should recover quickly. Gasperini acknowledged that "playing many matches, if you're out two weeks you risk missing five matches. He'll miss the first matches but will recover soon." On Paulo Dybala's remarkable early form this season, Gasperini said: "He's started the way it hasn't happened to him for years. I knew him in Palermo when he was very young. As with all great players, he still has enthusiasm and strength. When he's on the pitch he's well and wants to play." Regarding Romano, a young academy graduate, Gasperini was critical of circumstances beyond football: "The fact that Romano was sold is down to needs for capital gains and balance-sheet requirements. This is not something good for our football—you need the chance to let your best gems grow, but when there are these needs they become the first to be cut." Gasperini also discussed Donyell Malen's unexpected summer arrival. "Sometimes the planets align and things happen that you weren't thinking about days before," he said. "Malen was a known player; in summer we'd seen his characteristics, which were already known. Then things happen during the market where you think you've planned everything and then maybe something unforeseen comes up—sometimes bad, in this case good. In a moment when we were looking for a striker, this opportunity with Malen came up, exiting Aston Villa for a tactical reason. He wanted to play centre-forward and I've always seen centre-forward characteristics in him."

Bryan Cristante will miss Roma's upcoming away fixture at Como with a knee problem that is expected to sideline him for 2-4 weeks and keep him absent from the opening matches after the international break. Marten de Roon, signed from Atalanta in the closing days of the transfer window, will step in as his replacement. The injury is a blow to Gasperini's preparations for the trip to the Sinigaglia. However, Roma will have unrestricted support at Como—it will be their first away match of the season without travel restrictions, allowing the full Roma contingent to attend without limitation. Gasperini indicated Roma's competitive standing, saying the club is close to the level of Inter.

Bryan Cristante will miss Roma's Serie A trip to Como after the international break due to a knee injury, with his availability for the subsequent Champions League match against Real Madrid remaining in doubt. The midfielder's absence comes at a crucial point in the season, with Real Madrid's visit to the Stadio Olimpico among the most anticipated fixtures of Roma's opening campaign. Gian Piero Gasperini and Roma CEO John Galantic were both present at the Festival dello Sport in Trento, where Galantic addressed the departure of a young academy prospect. Gasperini explained the reasoning behind the sale: "The fact that Romano was sold are financial requirements and balance-sheet needs. We have seen great clubs that have had to sell important young players to remedy balance-sheet situations. This is not a good thing for our football; the best jewels must have time and opportunity to grow." Galantic separately praised Matías Soulé, describing him as another product of Roma's youth academy. "It is a very interesting boy," he said. "It was unfortunate what happened last week: it seemed we had found the player who would fix the national team and then he was excessively criticised. Perhaps adults need to stay calm in their judgement. When I saw Soulé's goal I lost my head and understood nothing anymore… that is the beauty of sport." Galantic made his comments while attending the festival in Trento alongside Gasperini.

Gian Piero Gasperini addressed the Gazzetta dello Sport's Festival dello Sport in Trento, reflecting on his arrival at Roma and the squad's early development under his management. He described his first message to the players as the creation of something new from the ground up. "It's like when you do a new construction: you must lay new and different foundations straight away," Gasperini said. "We never spoke about my previous years. We had to build something new immediately, founded on concepts different from what many players were used to, but also what they expected from me and asked of me. Football can be played in many ways, but the first concept was to win the ball back from the opponent and not wait for him to make a mistake." Gasperini singled out the defensive group for particular praise, naming Gianluca Mancini and Mario Hermoso as standout performers but extending credit to goalkeeper Mile Svilar and Evan N'Dicka, who he said had been among Europe's best defenders for months. On Mancini, he revealed his approach: "I knew him when I was his opponent and I would think 'why is he so disagreeable?' and I immediately tried to tell him 'look, this penalises you, for many years you didn't go to the national team because of these attitudes.' That was the first thing I worked on." Mancini had "a fantastic season" and has since returned to the Italy squad. Hermoso, despite a difficult previous year, brought experience from Atlético Madrid's defensive discipline alongside Spanish quality and tactical knowledge. On Bryan Cristante, Gasperini explained his confidence in the midfielder despite early doubts. "I knew him as a young player. Very often in players you don't look at the 'control room'—personality, the way of playing for the squad and putting teammates' needs first—and that's something I've always considered," he said. "When I was at Atalanta we sold Gagliardini to Inter and he couldn't stand out. Sartori gave me his name, I met the young Beppe Riso and got to know this guy. He couldn't have lost his technical qualities. I spoke to him a lot and he convinced me. I was facing the right person, with motivation, and I hoped that footballistically he would come out and he did." Cristante has suffered a knee injury but should recover quickly. Gasperini acknowledged that "playing many matches, if you're out two weeks you risk missing five matches. He'll miss the first matches but will recover soon." On Paulo Dybala's remarkable early form this season, Gasperini said: "He's started the way it hasn't happened to him for years. I knew him in Palermo when he was very young. As with all great players, he still has enthusiasm and strength. When he's on the pitch he's well and wants to play." Regarding Romano, a young academy graduate, Gasperini was critical of circumstances beyond football: "The fact that Romano was sold is down to needs for capital gains and balance-sheet requirements. This is not something good for our football—you need the chance to let your best gems grow, but when there are these needs they become the first to be cut." Gasperini also discussed Donyell Malen's unexpected summer arrival. "Sometimes the planets align and things happen that you weren't thinking about days before," he said. "Malen was a known player; in summer we'd seen his characteristics, which were already known. Then things happen during the market where you think you've planned everything and then maybe something unforeseen comes up—sometimes bad, in this case good. In a moment when we were looking for a striker, this opportunity with Malen came up, exiting Aston Villa for a tactical reason. He wanted to play centre-forward and I've always seen centre-forward characteristics in him."