Injured Azmoun to be out for up to three weeks
AS Roma striker Sardar Azmoun will be ruled of action for two to three weeks after sustaining a calf injury during Sunday’s 1-1 home draw against Fiorentina in Serie A, according to Sky Sport Italia.
The Iranian international came off the bench with 25 minutes into the game to replace injured Argentine Paulo Dybala but had to make way for Stephan El Shaarawy on the hour mark.
Roma got off to a flying start at the Stadio Olimpico Tour, taking the lead through Romelu Lukaku’s fifth-minute header, only to see the Belgian’s strike canceled out by Lucas Martínez Quarta in the 66th minute, two minutes after the Giallorossi’s Nicola Zalewski had received his marching orders for a second bookable offence.
José Mourinho’s side had to finish the game with nine men after Lukaku was dismissed with three minutes left on the clock for a reckless challenge on Ivorian Michael Kouame.
Azmoun’s injury means the Iranian – on a season-long loan from Leverkusen – will miss the upcoming games against Cremonese in Copa Italia, as well as massive league encounters with Bologna, Napoli, Juventus, and Atalanta.
Sunday’s stalemate left Roma fourth in the Italian top-flight table – equal on 25 points with fifth-place Bologna and four adrift of Milan.
However, Azmoun will likely be back on the pitch in time to lead the line for the national team – alongside Porto frontman Mahdi Taremi – at the AFC Asian Cup, starting January 12 in Qatar, where the three-time champion will be desperate to win a first title since 1976.
Meanwhile, Persepolis midfielder Vahid Amiri is expected to miss the Asian Cup, according to several sources in the country, due to a groin problem.
A member of the Iranian World Cup squads in 2018 and 2022, as well as the previous two Asian cups, Amiri, 35, was introduced as a second-half substitute during a 1-1 draw at Istiklol FC in the AFC Champions League in early November – having been out for weeks with a hamstring injury – but was unlucky to leave the pitch before the final whistle with a torn groin, and will likely miss out on what would have been a final major tournament in the Iranian shirt for him.