Roma will welcome Francesco Totti back into the fold on Monday after the disgruntled Giallorossi captain was excluded from a thrashing of Palermo.
The 39-year-old striker has cut an increasingly marginalised figure at the Stadio Olimpico this season and found himself omitted from the squad completely after publicly criticising head coach Luciano Spalletti in a television interview.
Totti - a talisman on the pitch for more than two decades - watched from the stands as Roma more than proved they can cope without him by comprehensively routing Palermo 5-0 with doubles from Edin Dzeko and Mohamed Salah, and a goal from Seydou Keita.
Spalletti insists he had no option but to drop Totti after his midweek outburst, but will expect him back in training on Monday morning.
At his post-match press conference, he said: "The Totti situation is already in the past. He was in the stadium, he was even down in the dressing room at one point. Tomorrow he'll train with the rest of us.
"What Totti said was borne out of a moment of anger and is understandable in some respects.
"But this squad has to abide by rules and I had to restore order after Totti spoke out like that.
"Totti, arguably our best player since World War II, deserves respect, but he has to keep earning it just like all the other players."
The Rome native has scored 300 goals for the capital club but has barely featured this term, making only five league appearances and starting only twice.
His contract expires at the end of the current campaign and, given the fact he turns 40 in September, his Roma career could be capped at 24 seasons.
Totti accused Spalletti of deliberately sidelining him in a scathing interview broadcast by TG1 on the RAI network.
"I'm still a footballer and I want to play. My injury is behind me, I'm doing fine and if I'm not playing it's the coach's decision," he said.
"I respect him as a person and as a coach, but I would have preferred him to tell me to my face rather than having to read things in the newspapers."
Source: PA-WIRE
