Victor Ibarbo has been ruled out for five weeks after Roma handed him his debut this week, even though he was already carrying an injury.
Ibarbo, 24, was signed from Cagliari ahead of the transfer deadline and Roma coach Rudi Garcia sent him straight into action 48 hours later against Fiorentina.
The Colombia forward damaged his calf in the 2-0 Coppa Italia defeat and will now miss up to seven games for the Giallorossi, including this weekend's clash with his former club.
New #ASRoma striker Victor Ibarbo answers questions from fans on Totti, titles & a dream move http://t.co/NDKhhCWEHj pic.twitter.com/YUA5FKKJxt
- AS Roma (@OfficialASRoma) February 4, 2015
Ibarbo had not played a game in the past month due to a calf problem and the club doctor at Cagliari was not in the least bit surprised that the 24-year-old broke down on Tuesday.
"He could not even take part in light training for us," said Marco Scorcu, quoted in Il Messaggero. "Our recovery plan had Ibarbo down for further tests before being able to start training with the team again."
Instead, Garcia felt that Ibarbo was fit enough for 20 minutes against La Viola.
His injury at least disproves rumours which had been circulating in Sardinia prior to his move to Roma that Ibarbo was feigning injury so as not to train with Cagliari and jeopardise his chances of leaving in the winter.
"I can't do anything about what people say," Ibarbo said on Thursday, before the extent of his injury was revealed. "I don't think it's anything serious. I can walk normally, but I have a bit of a problem with the calf."
Roma's sporting director Walter Sabatini added: "It's comical. It's almost embarrassing for us, but he'll recover soon."
Roma signed Ibarbo as a replacement for Mattia Destro, who joined AC Milan this winter.
