Fifteen, twenty days off at most. In the Empoli match Tommaso Cassandro suffered a strain on the medial collateral ligament of his right knee. Nothing particularly difficult, but still a problem that puts his presence at risk at least for the next championship match, the restart after the break, against Pescara, scheduled for Friday 21 November (8.30 pm) at the “Ceravolo”.
The defender underwent an MRI yesterday morning to clarify doubts after the knee extension movement, which fell after a tackle, which caused him to be replaced in the 10th minute of the first half of the away game in Tuscany last Saturday. That same evening, the club’s medical staff had imagined a sub-luxation of the kneecap, also because the twenty-five-year-old was walking on his own legs, even though he was in pain. The diagnostic test was logically more precise and confirmed that it was not something serious. The possibility of his recovery also for the match against Pescara cannot be completely ruled out, but it is a remote possibility, at least now. We’ll see in the next few days. The most probable return date is for the following match on Saturday 29th, again at home, against Virtus Entella (5.15 pm).
The problem may be of little importance for the player, but it is not for Alberto Aquilani, who had already had to give up Verrengia in defense due to a more complicated injury: a second-degree muscle injury suffered against Padova which will keep him out at least until December.
Among other things, Cassandro, as a right-sided centre-back in the back three, had definitely been among the best of the Giallorossi in the three matches won against Palermo, Mantova and Venezia: he had thus confirmed that he is perfectly at home in that role, which he himself defined as “natural” already last year. So, barring any positive surprises, Bettella will once again take his place, someone who due to experience and previous experience should and could have given something more than what has happened so far. Twenty-five years old himself, beyond a couple of matches in which he seemed to be improving against Spezia and Carrarese, he then entered a downward spiral, like the rest of the team, to the point of losing ground in the rotations also due to a slight muscle ailment that kept him in the box for the match against Padova.
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