New Roma signing Stephan El Shaarawy insists “I’m ready” despite a lack of playing time at Monaco.
The forward was on loan in Ligue 1 from Milan, but hasn’t played since December 19, as the principality side would have been obliged to buy him after 25 appearances.
“Physically I’m fine,” El Shaarawy assured as he was officially presented as a Giallorossi player, having joined on loan for the rest of the season.
New Roma signing Stephan El Shaarawy insists “I’m ready” despite a lack of playing time at Monaco.
The forward was on loan in Ligue 1 from Milan, but hasn’t played since December 19, as the principality side would have been obliged to buy him after 25 appearances.
“Physically I’m fine,” El Shaarawy assured as he was officially presented as a Giallorossi player, having joined on loan for the rest of the season.
“The training methods are different here to at Monaco. It’s intense work, in France it was mainly with the ball. I’ve had three training sessions and I’m ready.
“It wasn’t easy to train at Monaco knowing that I wouldn’t play, it was frustrating, but I just thought about working to stay in shape.
“I think I’m fit now.”
El Shaarawy’s career appears to have stalled after his breakthrough season in 2012-13 where he scored 19 goals for Milan.
“At Milan I had a lot of confidence from [then-Coach Max] Allegri, even in the second season I had a good year.
“Over the past two seasons I’ve had a lot of injuries, one in particular which kept me out for six months. Conservative treatment isn’t enough, I had to work.
“In January 2015 I broke my right foot, and that affected me. I wanted to try a change of scenery, Monaco was my first experience abroad, but the first half of the season was not exciting.
“It was an important experience. I was fine with my teammates, but not with the Coach [Leonardo Jardim].
“He took his decisions, so did the club, but I’ve turned the page and I’m thinking about doing well with Roma.”
image via @asroma