Injuries will not hurt Roma – Yermakovich

BATE boss Aleksandr Yermakovich does not believe Roma will be any less of a threat as a result of a succession of injury problems.

Striker Edin Dzeko has been ruled out for a month with a knee injury and Wojciech Szczesny is due to be absent until November, while both club icon Francesco Totti and midfielder Seydou Keita are due to miss the Champions League group-stage clash this week.

Yermakovich, however, has warned his side not to underestimate Rudi Garcia’s outfit.

“Three years ago we took on a Lille side coached by Rudi Garcia in the Champions League,” he said. “His teams play nice, attacking football. They prefer short- and medium-length passes, with lots of players getting involved in attacks.

“We know Roma have a lot of injuries, but I don’t think that will influence their game. They have many good replacements. They have leaders in every line: Daniele De Rossi in defence, Miralem Pjanic in midfield, and in general they can all put in great performances.

“We are not going to show our hand just yet. When the game starts, you will see how we are going to take on Roma.

“We want to give our fans something to celebrate, and we will try our best. If you want to take points from teams like Roma, you need a combination things: skill, luck, the fans’ support. We need to be very focused and determined.”

Roma held Barcelona to a creditable draw in the opening matchday, while BATE were beaten 4-1 by Bayer Leverkusen.