Como, Italy — Roma sporting director Tony D’Amico has backed Pierluigi Gollini and Lorenzo Pellegrini to make an impact against Como, as Gian Piero Gasperini adjusts his side following injuries to goalkeeper Mile Svilar and midfielder Bryan Cristante. Speaking before Sunday’s Serie A fixture at the Stadio Sinigaglia, D’Amico said he hoped the meeting would be “an advert for all of Italian football.”
Svilar’s absence presents the most immediate challenge. The goalkeeper suffered a stress fracture to a toe during training and is expected to miss at least a month, giving Gollini his first Serie A appearance in two years. Gasperini expressed confidence in his replacement, describing him as an excellent second-choice goalkeeper with an opportunity to play regularly during the coming weeks.
D’Amico’s message was one of trust, rather than an expectation that the replacements should carry the burden alone. “It’s very sad to lose an important player like Mile, and also Bryan,” he told DAZN Italia. “But all the lads who are part of the squad have the faith of the coach and club. It must be seen as motivation and not a weight on their shoulders.”
Pellegrini’s return offers encouragement in a different area of the team. The Roma captain makes his first start in six months, having endured an injury-disrupted period before signing a new contract on reduced wages. He returns in an attacking role alongside Paulo Dybala behind Donyell Malen—not as part of the defensive line. Marten de Roon replaces Cristante in midfield, while Gianluca Mancini, Evan Ndicka and Mario Hermoso form the back three in front of Gollini.
For D’Amico, retaining Pellegrini was itself an important piece of squad building. “He was like a new signing for us,” the director said. “He had some difficult months after the injury, he worked hard over the summer, and we are confident he can give the team a big hand from here on.” His inclusion gives Gasperini another experienced attacking option as Roma enter a demanding sequence of matches.
The meeting with Cesc Fàbregas’s Como therefore tests Roma’s depth as well as their ambitions. Gasperini acknowledged that losing Svilar was a significant blow, but stressed that unforeseen setbacks are part of a long season. With Gollini stepping into goal and Pellegrini returning to the starting side, Roma’s response rests on the readiness of the wider squad rather than on their missing players alone.
