Lazio coach Gennaro Gattuso has provided a fresh update on Super Eagles midfielder Fisayo Dele-Bashiru ahead of Saturday’s Serie A clash with Venezia.
Dele-Bashiru has been unavailable since suffering a thigh injury during Lazio’s opening Serie A game of the season against Bologna on August 24.
The Nigerian midfielder started the 1-0 victory before being substituted in the 54th minute after picking up the injury.
The setback has kept him out of Lazio’s subsequent Serie A fixtures, while he was also unavailable for the team’s home meeting with AC Milan.
Gattuso, speaking at his pre-match press conference on Friday, said the club had decided not to rush Dele-Bashiru back into action against Venezia.
Explaining the decision, the Lazio coach said they had preferred to wait rather than risk the midfielder.
“We preferred to wait and not risk him,” Gattuso said, as quoted by PazzidiFanta.
Dele-Bashiru had featured in two competitive matches for Lazio this season before his injury.
He played in the Coppa Italia first-round defeat to Mantova before starting against Bologna.
The injury also contributed to Dele-Bashiru’s omission from Eric Chelle’s latest Nigeria squad for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers against Madagascar and Guinea-Bissau, while he has also been among the players carrying fitness concerns ahead of the October 6 international friendly against Russia.
Wale Adejumo
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