Mourinho says World Cup warnings went unheeded after Dybala suffers injury blow

Jose Mourinho says the warnings against a hectic pre-World Cup schedule went unheeded after Paulo Dybala suffered an injury that has cast doubt over his participation in Qatar.

Roma were dealt a huge blow during Sunday’s 2-1 Serie A win over Lecce, with Dybala limping out of the match with a thigh injury immediately after scoring a penalty.

In the aftermath of that victory, Mourinho said Dybala – who has scored five Serie A goals this season – could miss the rest of 2022.

While subsequent reports have suggested four to six weeks may be a more realistic timeframe for Dybala’s recovery, even an absence of that length could represent a blow to the attacker’s hopes of representing Argentina at the World Cup.

Speaking ahead of Roma’s Europa League trip to Real Betis, Mourinho lamented the effects of a congested fixture schedule ahead of the tournament.

He said in a press conference: “It’s something we have been talking about for a long time.

“When we talked about World Cup four or five years ago, this was said. Now we live it and we live the situation.

“I learned to cry less than I cried before. I learned to live with the reality of things.

On the way!
#ASRoma #UEL pic.twitter.com/HlqbLYzit2

— AS Roma English (@ASRomaEN) October 12, 2022

“You can say that you play too much or say that the richer clubs are privileged. There are the rich, the poor and the less rich.

“The poor play once a week, the rich can play every day by changing players, and the less rich are those most in difficulty because they play as much as the rich, but with less chance to change and I’m living this situation.”

Roma suffered a 2-1 defeat at home to Betis last week, and are in need of a victory after taking just three points from their first three games in Group C.

Mourinho called on others to step up in Dybala’s absence as he told Sky Sport Italia: “I expect more from the team and even before Dybala’s injury, we never played the most creative players all together.

“Now, without Dybala, it will be even more difficult. But I trust the work and discipline of our game, I’m confident that tomorrow we will be able to make a result.”