Genoa vs Torino preview - Ventura 'fine' ahead of Genoa

Posted Sunday, December 16, 2012 by PA

Torino assistant manager Salvatore Sullo has reassured fans that head coach Giampiero Ventura is back to full health and ready to take charge in Genoa.

The 64-year-old was taken ill during the second half of Il Toro's 4-2 home defeat to AC Milan, immediately after Robinho scored a fantastic goal on the end of a fine dribbling run.

But Sullo insists Torino's leaky defence and poor run of results are not causing unnecessary stress for the veteran tactician.

He told La Repubblica: "No, there are more important things. We conceded goals (in that match) and unfortunately we will concede more in the future.

"There are many more important things in life. The coach is fine and everything is under control.

"There's no doubt we are the team that goes behind most often but if you look at the finer details of our last few matches, you will see there have been extenuating circumstances for our shortcomings.

"We conceded a questionable penalty against Roma and we were down to 10 men when we shipped three goals in the derby (at Juventus).

"But I suppose there's no excuse. We're conceding too many goals and making too many mistakes."

Defender Angelo Ogbonna has undergone successful surgery on the hernia that has ruined his season so far but he will not return to action until the new year.

Abour Diop and Marko Bakic are unlikely to participate as Torino bid to recover from a run of four defeats from five, with Riccardo Meggiorini, Salvatore Masiello and Alessandro Gazzi all facing late fitness tests.

Torino have only won once on their travels, registering a comprehensive 5-1 triumph at Atalanta on September 30, and they have scored just two goals away from home since then.

Ventura's counterpart Luigi Del Neri has enjoyed vociferous backing from the Genoa board since replacing Luigi De Canio in October, but tomorrow's game could decide his future given that the Rossoblu have lost eight games from nine.

Del Neri's men sit in 19th place, one point better off than Siena who started the season with a six-point deduction and two points from safety, with reports in Italy suggesting that De Canio could be lured back to the Grifone hotseat after just two months away.

Any victory over Torino will come without Cristobal Jorquera, Anselmo, Luca Antonelli, Cesare Bovo and Damiano Ferronetti, who are all injured, while Mario Sampirisi and Juraj Kucka serve out suspensions.