Roberto de Zerbi could do without several OM holders for the 4th day of Ligue 1’s opening match against FC Lorient: Geronimo Rulli, Leonardo Balerdi and Timothy Weah.
The hard blow for OM arrives in an already demanding calendar. According to Karim Attab, Geronimo Rulli and Leonardo Balerdi, both Argentines, should not be available for the trip against FC Lorient, Friday September 12 at the Orange Vélodrome (8:45 p.m.). The reason: the two players were selected by Lionel Scaloni to compete in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers facing the equator in the night from Tuesday to Wednesday, thousands of kilometers from Marseille.
The jet lag is a determining factor. With a calendar already busy for OM, which will travel to Madrid on September 16 in the Champions League and then receive PSG on September 21 for the classic, De Zerbi’s staff would not want to take any risks with its executives. Preserving Rulli and Balerdi therefore seems to be the wisest decision to avoid excessive or injury fatigue.
But absences do not stop there. Timothy Weah, injured last night during the defeat of the United States against South Korea (0-2) could be in the same situation as his Argentinian teammates. A situation that will force Zerbi to tinker with his composition and to turn his workforce, perhaps offering the opportunity to other players to show himself.
