Fonseca boosted by Cristante availability

Following the recent international break, the Giallorossi get back down to business on Saturday - as they travel to face Sassuolo at the Mapei Stadium.

The game gets underway at 15:00 CEST.

Here's what the boss had to say before the contest...

This game comes at a difficult time for you injury-wise, especially in defence. How are Chris Smalling and Bryan Cristante doing? Are you going to have to ask Leonardo Spinazzola to cover in the back three again?

“Smalling is doing better, but he’s not ready for tomorrow’s game. Bryan will play tomorrow. What you suggest with Spinazzola is a strong possibility, although that applies to [Rick] Karsdorp too.”

How is Jordan Veretout’s recovery going?

“He’s a lot better. He’s been working on his own over the last few days, and trained with the group a bit today. Next week I think we will have him back at 100 per cent.”

How far away is Stephan El Shaarawy from getting back to his best?

“We shouldn’t forget that Stephan joined us midway through the season. In the last few games we’ve all seen he has been improving. He needs to keep playing to get back to his best, being the player we all know.”

Are you going to start prioritising the Europa League over Serie A?

“We are all just thinking about tomorrow’s game. That’s what my complete focus is on. Then after the match against Sassuolo we will start to think about the European game.”

Is it fair to say you could play Edin Dzeko in one competition and Borja Mayoral in the other?

“No, I’m just thinking about each game as it comes. I have already chosen who will play tomorrow – then after that we will see who gets the nod against Ajax.”

In the papers it was written this week that the players don’t believe they can qualify for the Champions League any more. Is that something you also feel?

“It’s the complete opposite. We still have 30 points to play for in the league. I am not thinking that at all.”

Before the international break you seemed to think Smalling would be back with the squad in a few days, but he is still training separately. Was there a setback?

“Smalling is getting better, that’s the key thing. We don’t want to take any risks with him. We want him to be back when he is at 100 per cent. And in order for that to be the case he needs a few more days.”

Cristante, meanwhile, has followed an individual training programme for the last two weeks. To stop his issue becoming much more serious, might he need to miss the rest of the season?

“No. The situation with Bryan is under control. He has been following a personalised programme. Today he trained with the rest of the team. I think he will be able to play from now until the end of the season without any issues.”

Is there still a competition ongoing for the No. 1 spot?

“No. I have made my decision for tomorrow – Pau Lopez will start. After that we’ll have to see.”

What are the characteristics of Sassuolo and Ajax? Could it be an advantage for Roma to be playing two opponents who want to play attacking football?

“They are two sides that always want to take the initiative, that always want to have the ball. But they are different in the way they like to attack. I don’t know whether it is an advantage or not, but I always like to play teams like that. But that also depends on us, depends on how we approach the game.”

How is Henrikh Mkhitaryan doing?

“Micki is training on his own at the moment. He’s doing a lot better, let’s see how he is next week.”

What sort of game are you expecting tomorrow?

“It’s going to be a tough game. It’s always hard to go up against Sassuolo. They are a team that want to take the initiative, which makes it hard. We need to be at our best if we want to win the game. I’ve seen the squad at work this week, they are motivated and ready to put in a great performance tomorrow.”