Shop
Schick's late miss in Turin became a key talking point in the aftermath of the game - as the substitute was denied a last-gasp opportunity to steal a point for the Giallorossi.
And, while Di Francesco understands why such a moment might knock a young player's confidence, he hopes Schick will take the disappointment on the chin and push on over the coming weeks.
"Schick will definitely start tomorrow," Di Francesco said.
“It can happen that you miss a goal-scoring chance in the 94th minute in a game of that importance. It weighs heavily but he needs to have the strength to get over that. Right now, he’s the player I’m sticking closest to – he’s an asset to the club and a strong player. Even great players miss chances - and he’s not one of those just yet.
"He needs to improve and has a long way to go. We’ve worked a great deal on the psychological side of things to get over that error against Juventus as quickly as possible."
Di Francesco stressed that it was ludicrous to put Roma's failure to get a positive result at the Allianz Stadium solely at Schick's feet.
“We can’t accept this idea that we’d have drawn with Juventus if it wasn’t for Schick’s miss," he added. "The defeat in Turin is the result of the team’s performance, in that there were a few lapses in focus.
"There are many things we could have done better against them, an opponent that has a little more than we do.”
Imperium Partners
Centurion Partners
