Leon Bailey struggles at AS Roma have continued as Gian Piero Gasperini speaks out
Leon Bailey is on loan at AS Roma
Leon Bailey is on loan at AS Roma(Image: AS Roma via Getty Images)
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Leon Bailey’s struggles on loan at AS Roma are continuing, after Gian Piero Gasperini admitted that the winger is still not fully fit.
Having joined from Aston Villa on loan for the season, Bailey’s time in Italy got off to the worst possible start when he suffered an injury during his first training session.
He subsequently missed the first two months of the campaign, only returning to action earlier this month in the match against Inter.
Since then, Bailey has featured against Viktoria Plzen and Sassuolo — starting the latter — before coming off the bench against Parma on Wednesday.
However, the 28-year-old was withdrawn at half-time, having earlier replaced Evan Ferguson in the seventh minute.
“We threw him on the pitch a bit like that, even prematurely. He’s been out for a long time, he needs to be brought back in with another week or two," said Gasperini.
“I played him against Inter and Sassuolo, maybe he hadn’t recovered well, he was definitely struggling, he wasn’t the usual Bailey, we were taking risks and I preferred to take him off.”
Bailey will need to regain full fitness and start performing for Roma if the club are to consider spending £19 million to sign him permanently from Aston Villa.
At present, it does not appear likely that the Serie A side will take up their option to buy the Jamaica international.
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