Chris Smalling robbed by armed burglars in his Rome home

AS Roma defender Chris Smalling was robbed at gunpoint by burglars who broke into his home in Rome in the early hours of Friday, a source close to the matter said.

Smalling’s wife, son, mother and another family member were also in the house situated off the ancient Appian Way south of the city, according to the source.

Three men entered the house at around 5am and forced Smalling to open the safe and hand over three Rolex watches, jewels and around €300 in cash, according to news agency Ansa and Rome’s main sports daily Corriere dello Sport.

It was not immediately possible to contact the 31-year-old former England defender and Roma were not available to comment.

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Smalling sat out Roma’s Europa League quarter-final second leg with Ajax on Thursday due to a knee injury. He watched them draw the second leg 1-1 to win 3-2 on aggregate, setting up a semi-final against his old club Manchester United.