Maurizio Sarri hints that Ciro Immobile could start against Porto tomorrow and insists Lazio are only focused on the upcoming Europa League match and won’t think about the next Serie A meeting with Napoli.
Both Lazio and Napoli play the second legs of the Europa League knock-out round play-offs tomorrow, but Sarri is not thinking about the reunion with his ex-club on Sunday.
“We’ll think about Napoli from Friday. I’ll decide the best line-up for the Porto clash,” the coach said at a press conference.
“The next two games are very important. Full stop. I base my assessments on six or six months, not seven days. I had positive feelings after the first leg against Porto. The team faced difficulties with our heads held high, also in the game against Udinese where we reacted.”
Will Sarri’s line-up include Ciro Immobile?
“We’ll see today and decide tomorrow. He remained out for just six days,” the coach said.
Immobile is currently training with the team at Formello and is expected to start. Luis Alberto admitted during his press conference that Immobile would return tomorrow.
How about Francesco Acerbi and Pedro?
“Acerbi hasn’t played for 45 days, so he is not at his best. Hopefully, he can recover his fitness soon. He can’t start. Let’s see if he can come to the bench,” Sarri revealed.
“Pedro’s injury doesn’t seem as bad as it appeared on Sunday, but I don’t know his recovery time yet. Treating him with cortisone would have made his return to action quicker, but the anti-doping rules do not allow it.
“I don’t understand it. I’ve never seen any player dope using cortisone.”