Lazio misses top scorer Immobile in Conference League game with AZ
NOS Football–
Captain Ciro Immobile will be missing from Lazio’s game with AZ from the Conference League eighth finals on Tuesday night. The club’s top scorer has a right thigh injury.
The 33-year-old Immobile suffered the injury on Friday in the 1-0 league game against league leaders Napoli. According to the newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport further investigations will follow, but the striker is not deployable this week in any case.
The Gazzetta reports that Immobile, who has already missed 10 duels this season due to injury, is uncertain even for the Roman derby against AS Roma in just under two weeks. TV station Sky holds that the 33-year-old striker may be able to play as early as next weekend against Bologna.
The return against AZ in Alkmaar is next Thursday, between the games against Bologna and Roma.
AZ misses series of defenders
AZ traveled to Rome with 21 players. Coach Pascal Jansen included winter acquisitions Sven Mijnans, Mathew Ryan and Djordje Mihailovic and talents Wouter Goes, Rome-Jayden Owusu-Oduro and Lewis Schouten in his selection for a European game for the first time.
Jansen has only five defenders at his disposal because Bruno Martins Indi, Sam Beukema, Zinho Vanheusden and Maxim Dekker are recovering from injuries. Midfielders Dani de Wit and Riechedly Bazoer are also missing. Young striker Mexx Meerdink, who has already scored six goals this season in the UEFA Youth League, will travel to Rome.
The Alkmaarders, ranked third in the premier league, reached the last sixteen in the Conference League as group winners. Lazio, the number three in Serie A, finished third in the group in the Europa League, behind Feyenoord and FC Midtjylland. All clubs in this pool gained 8 points; based on the mutual results and goal difference, Feyenoord and Midtjylland went through in the Europa League.
