Roma arrive at the most demanding stretch of their season with a problem in the one position that had appeared untouchable. Mile Svilar, the goalkeeper whose reliability has become a constant through three different coaches, is expected to miss at least a month after suffering a stress fracture in the little toe of his right foot.
The coach and the club
Gian Piero Gasperini faces nine matches in 27 days without the player who has so often supplied Roma’s last line of certainty. The schedule begins at Como, at the Stadio Sinigaglia, and brings a sequence that includes domestic league commitments and Champions League nights.
“We will be without him for at least a month,” Gasperini said, visibly concerned by the timing of the setback.
Svilar has been managing the issue since 2 October, attempting to work through the pain at Trigoria before the injury became impossible to contain. It occurred during an apparently routine training dive to his left. As he shifted his weight onto his right foot to push off, the fifth toe gave way.
The club’s medical assessment is a stress fracture. It is not displaced, but neither is it a minor bruise. There was no tackle, accidental contact or stamp involved, making the mechanism of the injury particularly unusual for a goalkeeper.
Specialists are considering surgery to reinforce the bone with a screw because of the intensity of the pain. Should the more cautious recovery route prove necessary, Svilar may not return until after the next international break.
A difficult month without Roma’s regular goalkeeper
In that scenario, Roma could be deprived of Svilar for matches against Como, Real, Genoa, Slovan Bratislava, Napoli, Cagliari, Udinese, Manchester United and Sassuolo. The run has been described as seven Serie A fixtures alongside two Champions League ties.
Svilar had not been burdened by international football during this break. Under FIFA eligibility rules, he remains unable to represent another national team after appearing for Serbia four days after turning 21, despite wishing to play for Belgium.
The goalkeeper addressed the injury himself, writing that the moment had come at the worst possible time but was part of football. He added that his attention was already on rehabilitation and on returning stronger.
Gollini’s moment
Pierluigi Gollini is now set to take over between the posts. It is a sizeable responsibility for a player who made only one appearance for Panathinaikos in last season’s Europa League.
Svilar’s durability has meant Roma have rarely needed to test their reserve options. Since Daniele De Rossi handed him his Europa League debut on 15 February 2024, the club have effectively built their continuity around him.
- Svilar has played 127 of Roma’s 130 matches across the last two years and eight months.
- Boer, Marin, Vasquez, Zelezny and De Marzi have not played in that period.
- Rui Patricio and Ryan each made one Coppa Italia appearance.
De Rossi, Claudio Ranieri and now Gasperini have all been able to rely on the Belgian goalkeeper as a near-permanent presence. Roma’s supporters view him as one of the few genuinely irreplaceable figures in the squad; Gollini must now guide the club through a taxing section of the championship and Europe without allowing that absence to define it.
