Toma Basic ‘to take’ double Lazio role on injury return | OneFootball

Toma Basic is closing on an injury return and could be asked to cover two midfield roles for Lazio in the run-in.

According to Il Corriere dello Sport, Basic is pushing to feature on Sunday against Torino, even off the bench, to set up a prominent role in the Coppa Italia semi-final first leg with Atalanta at the Stadio Olimpico on Wednesday, 4 March.

The midfielder took a knock against Juventus at the start of February, returned to training last week, and was not fit to travel to Cagliari on Saturday, remaining in Rome.

The 29-year-old had been left out of the squad since last season, then earned his way back during September’s injury crisis, nailed down a starting place and was described by Maurizio Sarri as “untouchable”.

With Nicolo Rovella sidelined for several months after collarbone surgery, Basic will have a crucial role to play across the final weeks.

He will regain his box-to-box berth alongside Kenneth Taylor and Danilo Cataldi, and he is also the first alternative to Cataldi in the Regista position while Rovella is unavailable.

Although Reda Belahyane did well in Sardinia, the manager does not see him in a deeper role, so if Cataldi is missing, Basic would drop into the deep-lying playmaker slot and Belahyane would come in as a box-to-box option.

Source: The Laziali