José Mourinho reveals nine Roma players won’t be available to face Hellas Verona tomorrow and insists Tammy Abraham can ‘do even more.’
At least nine Roma players won’t be available for tomorrow’s clash with Hellas Verona, including four who tested positive for COVID. Nicolò Zaniolo is in doubt for the match with a quadriceps injury but hasn’t been ruled out of the game yet.
“Nine players are out of action, but this list doesn’t include Zaniolo. We have a training session at 17.00 and we play tomorrow at 18.00 [Italian time]. We can wait, tomorrow we’ll see how Nicolò feels,” Mourinho said at a press conference, as quoted by ForzaRoma.info.
Mourinho lost his first game in charge of Roma in the reverse fixture at the Stadio Bentegodi, what has changed since?
“The weather. It was cold and rainy that day, I don’t think it will rain in Rome tomorrow,” Mourinho said smiling.
“I think they have quality, it was a tough game for both teams tomorrow. Tudor was a great choice for them, they have experienced players and we have nine players out of action, but our footballers must play with passion and feel the passion in their minds and in their hearts.
“I’ll have to raid half of the Primavera team, they play with Milan tomorrow.”
Is Mourinho already deciding which players to cut ahead of next season? How about Henrik Mkhitaryan and Jordan Veretout?
“I make assessments every day, there aren’t many players who keep consistent performances through the season. Miki can do it, because he can play in different roles and is strong physically. He can play three games per week,” the coach said.
“Jordan had a good start, had a little drop, but now he is returning to an acceptable level.”
Roma-Verona, tra poco #Mourinho in conferenza stampa – LIVE#ASRomahttps://t.co/REBZ3B11iS
— Forzaroma.info (@forzaroma) February 18, 2022
What does Mourinho make of Tammy Abraham?
“He is doing well but can do even better. The team needs him to do better. He is a foreign player accustomed to a different kind of football. It’s not easy to leave England, but he is doing well but I believe he has the potential to do even more.”
The English striker moved to the Stadio Olimpico in a €40m deal in the summer and has scored 18 goals in 33 appearances across all competitions.
During his pre-match press conference, Mourinho also discussed the latest round of Champions League games, giving his verdict on PSG vs. Real Madrid and Inter vs. Liverpool.
Mourinho gives honest opinion on Inter vs. Liverpool and PSG vs. Real Madrid