Roma’s Cristante Faces Extended Recovery Due to Misdiagnosed Injury

Bryan Cristante’s return to the field for AS Roma has been further postponed. What was initially considered a minor bruise from the December 2nd match against Atalanta has turned out to be a more serious injury. According to reports, a misjudgment by Roma’s medical staff following the loss to Gasperini’s team has extended Cristante’s recovery time. The midfielder will now need to follow a targeted rehabilitation program to avoid complications and ensure a safe return to the team after nearly two months on the sidelines.

The medical team at Trigoria, led by Dr. Roberto Vannicelli and overseen by Dr. Georg Ahlbaumer from the Klinik Gut in Saint Moritz, initially believed the pain could be managed without significant consequences. This assessment was partly based on Cristante’s high pain tolerance, as he had been playing through back discomfort for some time. However, persistent swelling in the ankle prompted a second, more thorough examination, which revealed ligament damage.

The severity of the injury was underestimated to such an extent that manager Claudio Ranieri, speaking before the Roma-Lecce match, expressed cautious optimism about Cristante’s imminent return to training. Ranieri stated, “Cristante’s ankle is bruised. We’ll see what he can do tomorrow, whether he can train or not.”

This setback will force Cristante to remain sidelined for an additional three weeks, on top of the time already lost since the Atalanta match. As a result, he will miss crucial fixtures against Milan, Lazio, and Bologna, depriving Ranieri of a key midfield component. The team hopes for Cristante’s return by mid-January, potentially in time for the match against Genoa, where he can finally put this ankle injury behind him and rejoin his teammates on the pitch.