Dybala out for six weeks as Roma battle for top-four spot

Italian club Roma, pushing for Champions League qualification in Serie A, face a lengthy absence of Argentine forward Paulo Dybala exceeding six weeks because of a knee problem, according to reports from Italian sources on Friday.

La Gazzetta dello Sport and Sky Sport Italia indicate that Dybala had surgery in Rome that day after experiencing "a complete longitudinal tear of the external meniscus".

The 2022 World Cup champion halted Thursdays training early, initially labelled by Roma as "muscle fatigue".

Recovery time stands at about 45 days, resulting in him sitting out seven Serie A fixtures plus the Europa League last sixteen encounter with Italian rivals Bologna.

Dybala missed all Roma action in February over a "knee problem". He made the substitutes bench for the March 1 clash against Juventus yet remained unused during the 3-3 tie.

Aged 32, Dybala surrendered his automatic starting berth at Roma towards the close of last season. This year he has managed just two goals across 17 Serie A outings.

Roma hold fourth place in Serie A, 16 points adrift of frontrunners Inter Milan, but merely two points behind third placed Napoli and three in front of fifth placed Como.