Candreva set for short lay-off

Lazio hope to have Antonio Candreva back for their next Europa League clash against Saint-Etienne after scans showed no serious damage to his ankle.

Candreva missed the 5-0 humbling at the hands of Napoli on Sunday after picking up a problem following the 1-1 draw with Dnipro in Europe.

He is expected to miss the Serie A clashes with Genoa and Verona this week, but the club's medical staff are hopeful he will then be ready to make a return.

"Today we performed instrumental checks on Antonio Candreva," club doctor Stefano Salvatori told Lazio Style Radio. 

"The MRI scans have not highlighted a distortion trauma, but revealed the presence of a hematoma, so Antonio will not be available either for Wednesday's game or for that Sunday. 

"Now the race is on to make him available for the Europa League. One positive note is that today Candreva walked independently."

The news is not so good for Stefan de Vrij and Miroslav Klose, though, with Lazio expecting the pair to be out until mid-October.