Svilar out for Roma: finger fracture, Gollini to start

Mile Svilar went down on the eve of Como-Roma, and anyone running him needs to plan for a month without him. Gianpiero Gasperini explained it at his press conference: a stress fracture to the fifth finger of his hand, not displaced, picked up during a push he took in training at Trigoria. It traces back to a knock he took against Inter two weeks ago that later turned into a fracture.

Gasperini's own estimate is at least a month out, but the club is weighing a small procedure, inserting a screw to stabilise the finger, a choice that, if it goes ahead, would push Svilar's return past the mid-November international break. "Unfortunately we've lost him for a few weeks," the Roma coach said. "It's a bad blow, but in long seasons these things happen too."

The practical fantacalcio takeaway: Svilar, priced at 19 and sitting in the 11-20 band that rewards high ratings, won't play against Como or for the following weeks, with a best-case return lining up with the November break. Anyone starting him needs another option for at least one full cycle of fixtures.

Taking his place is Pierluigi Gollini, who would start in Serie A for the first time in exactly two years: his last league appearance came on 5 October 2024, with Genoa, in a match lost 5-0 to what was then Gasperini's Atalanta. With Roma he has played a single match, last season in the Europa League in Athens, where a mistake of his opened the door to Panathinaikos' goal in a game that finished 1-1. Gasperini himself still backed him: "He's an excellent deputy, he made the national team under me, now he has his chance and everyone needs to trust him."

What makes the Gollini gamble less reckless than it sounds is Roma's defence, which has conceded just 3 goals in the first five league matchdays, one of the tournament's best. Anyone after a cheap goalkeeper to cover for Svilar in this window could look at Gollini himself: in our list he's valued at 1 credit, the same price as third-choice keeper Giorgio De Marzi, who sits behind him in the pecking order alongside Colombian Devis Vasquez, brought back onto the list as the backup option.

What's still unclear is exactly how long the layoff will run. If Roma opt for surgery, Svilar's return would slip past the mid-November break; if the fracture heals on schedule without it, a month might be enough. Either way, for the upcoming matches against Como and beyond, Roma's goal belongs to Gollini.