Roma Primavera striker Morucci undergoes hernia surgery

Roma played a friendly against Sorianese, a team from the Eccellenza league, this morning in preparation for their Serie A match against Como on Sunday, three days away. The fixture served as a joint training session to build sharpness before the league encounter. Manu Koné and Rodrigo Mora featured in the friendly, while Matías Soulé, Leonardo Balerdi and Santiago Castro sat out after returning yesterday and completing a recovery session. Donyell Malen and Wesley have recovered fully from their respective injury problems and are available for selection. Bryan Cristante remains sidelined with a knee injury and is unlikely to feature even in Wednesday's Champions League fixture against Real Madrid. Marten de Roon is ready to step in during his absence. The friendly allowed Gasperini's squad to maintain match fitness while managing the recovery of players returning from international duty ahead of a demanding fixture list.

Lorenzo Pellegrini announced he is fully fit and eager to resume after six months out of action, speaking at an event where he received the Colalucci award. The midfielder, who had appeared on the bench twice before the international break but was not yet ready, said the three-week gap gave him the perfect opportunity to train, push himself and prove his readiness. "I'm finally back at the disposal of the team," Pellegrini said. "This break came at the perfect moment, because I had the chance to work, push and also test myself. I'm very happy and very charged for this restart." Roma sit high in the league after five matches without Pellegrini, though the season is only four hours old. The midfielder's return comes as the club prepares to resume domestic fixtures and chase Champions League duties on midweek. Asked about whether the coming fixture against Como will decide who becomes the main challenger to Inter, Pellegrini cautioned against premature judgments. "It's very difficult to say now. These are the first four hours of the campaign, and then we restart after a very long break. There will also be new things for us: not playing for three weeks is particular, and it's difficult to have to restart. We have lots of matches, because we'll then play the midweek Champions game. It will certainly be complicated." He added: "It's difficult to say this is the match that decides who will be Inter's rival, because the season is long, it's just started and we come from a break that never happened before." Pellegrini reflected on his longer journey at Roma, describing himself as a reserved but simple person deeply attached to the club. "I've always done what I felt was right," he said of his decision to stay. "I believed it could make me happy, and I'm proud of that, because you must never compromise when you do what you feel and when you respect above all the love you have for yourself, for what you do and for where you do it. Here in Rome it's very important to us." He also noted that Roma's dressing room under the current regime is strong and united. "I prefer the dressing room from before," he reflected on past approaches, "but I must say our dressing room is truly a lovely group: united, calm, working, serene and strong. It knows what its group objective is." On the morning after receiving his award, Pellegrini expressed hope that the occasion would bring good fortune for Sunday's fixture.

Roma are closing in on a fully assembled squad ahead of their Serie A resumption after the international break, with head coach Gian Piero Gasperini welcoming back players from national-team duties and accelerating the rehabilitation of injured players at Trigoria. Bryan Cristante's absence through a right collateral ligament injury has opened a key midfield place. Marten De Roon is now the main candidate to partner Manu Koné, who has become the fulcrum of Roma's midfield with increasingly prominent box-to-box duties. De Roon remained at the training ground during the break and has been able to follow targeted preparation to reach peak condition. Niccolò Pisilli, returning from Under-21 international commitments, stands ready as a crucial option off the bench to provide freshness and intensity at key moments. Matías Soulé, Santiago Castro and Leonardo Balerdi—the three Argentine internationals—are due to arrive in Rome today and will rejoin Gasperini's squad from tomorrow onwards. Manu Koné has already resumed regular training with the main group alongside other players returning from international fixtures. The camp will complete its final session with a full complement before the Como fixture. Donyell Malen and Wesley, both unavailable for their national teams due to physical issues, have used the two-week break to continue individual rehabilitation. From today the pair will progressively return to group training, offering Gasperini valuable options in attack and across the flanks as the championship restarts.