Lorenzo Pellegrini returned to public view with a message that matters more to Roma than the award he collected: the captain believes he is ready to play again. After a long recovery, he used the international break to rebuild his condition and now sees the next phase of the season as a test of Roma’s early momentum rather than a moment for grand declarations.
The decision
Pellegrini received the Premio Colalucci on Tuesday evening and said he was pleased to be back at the disposal of the Roma staff. He had been named among the substitutes for two matches before the international break, but admitted that his return then had come too soon.
“I am well, thank you, and it is a pleasure to be here,” Pellegrini said. “We can celebrate this return because I am finally available again. Before the break I was on the bench twice, but I had only just come back and was not ready yet.”
The pause arrived at a useful point for him. Roma had no match for three weeks, an unusual interruption in the calendar, and Pellegrini said the time allowed him to train fully, push himself and assess where he stood physically.
“I have been able to work, increase the intensity and test my fitness,” he said. “I am very happy and motivated for the restart.”
His absence did not prevent Roma from making a strong opening to the campaign. Pellegrini praised his team-mates for their work across the first five games without him, while suggesting that the standard seen in training has helped explain the positive feeling around the club.
He urged supporters not to abandon ambition, while also placing a limit on the conclusions Roma can draw in October. “Fans should always dream,” he said. “Anyone involved in sport goes out to win, whether it is football, tennis or anything else. At the beginning of a season there are always unknowns, but the level in training has made me very happy. We all deserve this wave of enthusiasm.”
For Pellegrini, the task is to carry it forward before turning hope into clearer targets later in the campaign. “We must keep going like this and hope it lasts a long time,” he added, “then set more concrete objectives towards the end of March.”
Sunday’s picture
Roma’s meeting with Como arrives after the extended break and has been discussed as an early contest between possible challengers to Inter. Pellegrini rejected that framing, insisting that neither side can be assigned such a role at this stage of the season.
“It is much too early,” he said. “We are only at the start.”
The midfielder expects the restart to bring its own complications, particularly as the Champions League midweek programme begins and the rhythm of fixtures changes. The Como match, he said, will not settle the question of who might pursue Inter over a full championship, but it should still offer an attractive contest.
Roma return with Pellegrini closer to the centre of the picture again. The next result will not define their season, yet his availability gives the coach another established voice and another option as the calendar begins to tighten.
