Roma striker Osvaldo ruled out for two months
Reuters - Friday 06 January 2012, 12:31
Brief news ahead of this
weekend's Serie A matches:
Seventh-placed AS Roma were dealt a blow ahead of Sunday's
return to action against 12th-placed Chievo Verona when
top-scorer Pablo Osvaldo was ruled out for two months, the club
confirmed on Friday.
Days after striker Marco Borriello left for Juventus in the
January transfer window, Osvaldo, who has struck seven goals
since signing in the off-season, suffered a thigh strain in
training.
Roma, who finished off 2011 with two victories on the road,
against Napoli and Bologna, are also missing playmaker David
Pizarro who has returned to his native Chile because of 'serious
family problems', according to a statement on the club's website.
Genoa's new signing Alberto Gilardino said he remained
ambitious after swapping Fiorentina for the mid-table northern
side in the transfer window.
"I've never lost the desire. No light has gone out," the
Italian striker, responding to comments from Viola coach Delio
Rossi, told reporters at his presentation. "Genoa believed in me
and offered the chance of signing an important contract for a
29-year old."
The former AC Milan and Parma forward, who signed a
four-and-a-half-year contract, looks set to lead the line on
Sunday at struggling Cagliari for a Genoa side missing
centre-back Kakha Kaladze through injury.
Joint leaders AC Milan have made a new bid to sign
Manchester City striker Carlos Tevez as rivals Inter Milan enter
negotiations for the Argentine striker themselves, reports in
Italy say.
Gazzetta dello Sport reported that AC Milan Vice-President Adriano Galliani, Tevez and his agent Kia
Joorabchian had met in Rio de Janeiro on Thursday and spoken to
City delegates by phone.
At the same time, the newspaper reported that Inter Milan
sporting director Marco Branca met City delegate Brian Marwood
in London.
Fifth-placed Inter, who host Parma on Saturday, will
meet Milan, who visit Atalanta on Sunday, in next
weekend's derby.
Juventus, who share the Serie A lead with AC Milan, have
beefed up their striking presence, as they push for their first
scudetto in nine seasons, with the signing of Borriello from
Roma.
The 29-year-old Italian striker, whom Juve can buy outright
for eight million euros after an initial
six-month loan, will compete against Alessandro Matri, Mirko
Vucinic, Fabio Quagliarella and Alessandro Del Piero for a place
in attack for Juventus, who travel to bottom club Lecce on
Sunday.
"Juventus have really surprised me this season and I hope
they can help me show my best form," former AC Milan and Genoa
forward Borriello told the club website.
Sixth-placed Napoli will be without Argentine forward
Ezequiel Lavezzi and new signing Eduardo Vargas when they travel
to ninth-placed Palermo for Sunday's late match.
Lavezzi is still recovering from a muscle injury while
22-year-old Chilean forward Vargas, who arrived in Naples on
Thursday, has yet to train with the side following his move from
Universidad de Chile.
"We beat off a lot of clubs to get him," Napoli President
Aurelio De Laurentiis told local station Radio Marte after
clinching the signing of Chile's player of the year. "This shows
we are always on the lookout for the world's most talented
youngsters who can help the club grow."
Third-from-bottom Novara's new signing Andrea Caracciolo
is struggling to shake off an injury and make his debut at home
to Fiorentina on Sunday.
The striker, who signed on loan from Genoa on Wednesday, has
promised to improve the club's strike rate of just over a goal a
game since their promotion from Serie B last season.