What Dybala’s injury means for Roma ahead of Rangers clash

Gian Piero Gasperini has confirmed that Paulo Dybala won’t return to action before the international break, meaning Roma will likely rely on Artem Dovbyk in games against Rangers and Udinese.

Roma star Dybala suffered an injury during a 1-0 loss against Milan on Sunday.

The Argentine forward sustained his injury while taking a penalty kick, which he also missed, in the second half.

“The worst thing of all on the penalty is that Dybala got injured,” Gasperini told DAZN.

“Now we need to see how long he’ll be out, certainly until after the break for international duty. This is the biggest loss of the night.”

Dybala’s injury means Gasperini will have little options in attack in the next game against Rangers in the Europa League on Thursday.

Evan Ferguson, in fact, is also on the treatment table due to an ankle injury he sustained against Parma last week.

Gasperini has said that the Republic of Ireland forward would miss one or two weeks of action. His return against Rangers is highly unlikely, making Dovbyk the only available centre-forward.

Dovbyk has scored two goals in 12 appearances across all competitions this season, and despite some recent signs of improvement, the Ukraine international still isn’t a regular starter at the Olimpico.

Dovbyk and Ferguson initially competed for a starting spot in the Roma attack, but when Dybala returned to full fitness, Gasperini opted to deploy the Argentine as a false nine.

Dybala has not been more prolific than Dovbyk, with two goals in nine appearances, but has posed a more relevant attacking threat to Roma’s opponents thanks to his link-up with attacking midfielders and his quality touches in the final third.

With the Argentine and Ferguson out of action, Gasperini will likely rely on Dovbyk in attack against Rangers, unless Matias Soulé is picked as a false nine as a replacement for Dybala.

Soulé is Roma’s best scorer this season with three goals in 12 appearances, but has always been deployed as an attacking midfielder or support striker.