Jose Mourinho: Chris Smalling Fires Back at Former Coach After AS Roma Sacking

• Jose Mourinho had previously questioned Chris Smalling's niggling injury concerns
• Smalling last played football last year and has been out with a knee injury since
• Mourinho was relieved of his duties as Roma boss after the club's loss to AC Milan

Chris Smalling has become the latest AS Roma player to send a message following the dismissal of Jose Mourinho as head coach earlier this week.

The capital club pulled the plug on the 60-year-old after two and half years in charge following a spate of poor results. The straw that broke the camel's back was the 3-1 loss to AC Milan on Sunday.

Smalling has now seemingly revisited Mourinho's previous comments about his commitment to the club. The English centre-back has struggled for consistency due to constant injuries. He has been sidelined for more than four months with a knee issue.

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In one of his press conferences, Mourinho blasted the former Manchester United defender for not being able to play through the pain.

"Smalling isn't capable of playing through pain. He holds something back. His specific issue is a real challenge. It's really frustrating for me because his position is where we're most desperate for players," as quoted by the Mirror.

Smalling hits back at Mourinho

The 34-year-old was seemingly not impressed by the comments. In a hard-hitting message on his Instagram stories, he said,

"There are things in this game and in life that we can control and others we simply can't. This injury has been one thing that we couldn't. No footballer wants to spend their days in a treatment room, and this period of time away from my teammates has challenged me, with setback after setback."

Mourinho left AS Roma in 9th place with 29 points, four shy of automatic European places.

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Clubs Mourinho could join

Sports Brief has also reported that given his CV and successes, Mourinho is unlikely to remain jobless for too long.

Newcastle United and Chelsea lead a list of possible clubs that the veteran Portuguese tactician could join.