Como must again plan without Assane Diao, whose latest setback at De Kuip has extended a difficult pattern for one of Cesc Fabregas’s most gifted forwards. The Senegalese attacker is now facing 223 days away from the ball, another lengthy interruption in a Como spell that has repeatedly been checked just as it appeared ready to gather pace.
In fewer than two years by the lake, Diao has already missed 25 Serie A matchdays through injury. The first major blow came in April 2025, at the height of his most productive run: eight league goals and one assist from his opening 15 Serie A appearances. A fracture to the fifth metatarsal in his right foot then ended his season five rounds early and kept him out for 68 days.
His return brought little stability. A recurrence in the same foot required a further 57-day absence, while a hamstring complaint interrupted another comeback. Diao managed 316 minutes before the issue developed into a muscle injury that ruled him out for 11 league fixtures. There had also been a muscular discomfort recorded last March before the problem suffered in Rotterdam.
Fabregas looks within his squad
The concern for Como is not simply the number of absences, but the qualities lost with Diao. He currently ranks second in Serie A for successful dribbles, while among under-22 players across Europe’s leading leagues he is fifth for beating opponents, ahead of Barcelona’s Lamine Yamal in sixth. A forward able to create an advantage in that manner is not easily replaced, particularly for a side seeking to build continuity across a long campaign.
Fabregas may nevertheless find part of the answer inside the group. Before Como’s first European trip, the coach highlighted the recovery of Addai as an important development. “One of the best pieces of news is that Addai is back,” Fabregas said. “He is a very promising player. He had been improving steadily before his injury and has great potential. He needs minutes again now, but he can help the team a lot.”
Addai himself is returning from seven months out, so Como cannot expect an immediate solution. Yet the squad’s next chapter will depend on how quickly he can regain rhythm, and on whether Fabregas can soften the absence of a player whose talent has so often been followed by another spell on the treatment table.
