Roma coach Mourinho: Smalling can't play in pain

Roma coach Jose Mourinho admits Chris Smalling cannot play with pain.

Roma meet Udinese later today with a long injury list.

Mourinho said, There are players who have never missed a game, they are always the same. Cristante, Mancini, Bove and Rui for example. Others belong to the other group. Smalling, Renato, Lorenzo and sometimes Dybala and Spinazzola

Players are professional and they do anything to feel well. My staff and I are working on many different aspects. As for Smalling, the injury is there. There are regular people who can bear the pain, but Smalling doesn't know how to play suffering. He holds back a little. But his injury is difficult and give me great frustration because we need him in that position. We must be patient, I can't blame anyone. We'll see when he returns. He never left the medical department last week. This one was the first one with no pain. I don't expect him in the next two or three weeks. We'll see and hope."

On his own contract, the coach also said: I work every day with the team. They are a bit like a family. With the owners, it's a different situation.

I am here and the owners are elsewhere. I am paid to not create problems for the owners, so they have to trust what I do. The last time I spoke to them was yesterday, but we didn't speak about the contract."