Will Santiago Giménez play for Feyenoord in the Europa League game against Roma?

Feyenoord coach Arne Slot has a number of injury concerns heading into Thursday’s Europa League playoff first leg against Roma. He is already without captain Gernot Trauner who has been out for the past week with a hamstring injury while midfielder Quinten Timber has missed the last four games after suffering concussion eight at the end of stoppage-time in the 2-0 KNVB Beker win over AZ Alkmaar last week.

Nor is the presence of Santiago Giménez guaranteed against Roma. The Mexican striker missed De Klassieker - Sunday’s league clash with city rivals Sparta Rotterdam after picking up a calf muscle injury at the last minute which prevented him from even being on the bench. It was the first game that Giménez has missed this season through injury - he was unavailable for the team’s opening Champions League games against Celtic and Atlético due to suspension, otherwise he has played every game.

Giménez struggling to shake off a calf muscle injury

Feyenoord have not disclosed how severe the Mexican’s fitness issues are, but everything indicates that it has been serious enough for him to sit out Thursday’s game at Stadion Feijenoord. Whether it’s a sprain or something more serious like a muscle tear, Giménez looks set to miss his second consecutive game. It’s the longest spell he has had on the sideline since joining the Dutch side - last season he missed just three days with a hamstring twinge. Despite that he still managed to make 50 appearances and score 28 goals - 15 of them in the Eredivisie in which he finished as the fourth top scorer in the league.

Arne Slot gave an update on the eve of the game, telling the media: “Santi will be undergoing a few late fitness tests today. They will determine who is recovery is evolving and from the results, we will decide whether he is able to play or not”.

The Dutch side will be looking to get their revenge on Roma who eliminated them in last year’s quarter finals. They beat the Italians, then managed by José Mourinho 1-0 at home in the first leg but crashed to a 4-1 defeat in the return. Roma go into the game smarting from a 2-4 defeat to Inter Milan - their eight defeat in Serie A this season, while Feyenoord beat Sparta 2-0 at the weekend to keep the pressure on PSV at the top of the Eredivisie where they are second on 49 points.