Twelve minutes on the field, then the cold shower and the heavy injury. Gini Wijnaldum was the desire of the Giallorossi summer market, then the great regret of this first part of the season. Roma is waiting for him, Mourinho whenever he can underlines his absence. The coach, however, was not optimistic about his return in the first match of January against Bologna, and in the post derby between the natural nervousness for the defeat and the frustration for the many injuries he let go in a comment that frightened the fans: «We have to recover the injured, but I don’t know if Wijnaldum will have it immediately available, at the second half, in 2023». The dream of seeing him immediately on January 4 could be shattered by a rehabilitation that is going well but that has had much longer times for the desire of the midfielder not to operate on the fractured tibia on August 21 in training but to opt for the conservative therapy. Four months of stop then, and recovery time not certain but that are evaluated only after the checkups to which the boy is subjected in the various steps that is following.

Wijnaldum recovery: February target
On 7 October, Wijnaldum took off his cast and after months with his family in Rotterdam, he returned to Italy to work with the Giallorossi medical staff (who always supervised his work abroad). So Gini (also on Sunday in the stand in the derby) is continuing his recovery program at the Fulvio Bernardini, without forcing the workloads but, indeed, proceeding cautiously on every exercise he performs daily. Lots of work in the gym and in the indoor pool in Trigoria, followed scrupulously by a trainer and a physiotherapist: considering the stop for the World Cup, Wijnaldum will have a month and a half to work without having the pressure to miss further matches. The fourth month of recovery will expire at the end of December, at which point the midfielder will gradually begin to return to the field, first individually and then with the team. He will need to regain the best athletic form before he can play an official match. A gradual return in a January full of matches (6) and big match against Milan, Fiorentina and Naples. That’s why the final return could be further delayed: to see Wijnaldum totally available to Roma will probably have to wait until February, in the home matches against Empoli, Lecce or Verona. Mourinho waits, and hopes.