Regretful Roma rebel Christian Panucci is back against Inter this evening and admits “it’s the end of a nightmare.”
The defender was frozen out after he refused to sit on the bench against Napoli in late January and demanded a transfer.
Failure to find an alternative club saw him dropped from the Champions League list and left out of the side, but with an emergency situation caused by injuries and his very late apology to Luciano Spalletti, he is back for tonight’s showdown with Inter.
“It’s the end of a nightmare,” the veteran told the Gazzetta dello Sport. “They were very rough days in which I preferred to keep quiet.
“I am in good shape and have been training regularly, so I want to play. After apologising to Spalletti, I cleared the air with [directors Bruno] Conte and [Daniele] Pradè.
“It will take time for me to do the same with [President Rosella] Sensi.”
Panucci is not eligible for the Champions League tie with Arsenal, in which Roma must overturn a 1-0 first leg defeat.
He can help out during this tricky time in Serie A, though, especially against Inter where Juan, Simone Loria, Marco Cassetti, Max Tonetto and Simone Perrotta are injured.
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