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Ashley Cole has been left out of Roma's squad lists for the 2015-16 season, including the 23-man selection for the Champions League. Left-back Cole, 34, had the chance to return to the Premier League this summer after a disappointing first season at Roma but he remained with the Giallorossi following this week's transfer deadline. However, with Roma coach Rudi Garcia landing his first-choice target Lucas Digne from Paris Saint-Germain to play in Cole's role, the Englishman's chances of being involved for Roma this season look slim. The arrival of Digne has been followed by the submission of Roma's 23-man Champions League squad list which does not include former Chelsea player Cole. But the defender, who is listed on the club's official website with the squad No. 0, does not regret moving to the Serie A club from the Blues last summer. "Of course, I wake up every morning new, free as a bird. I know there's not going to be a rubbish story in the paper about going to a nightclub or doing this or that," Cole told Australia's Herald Sun during Roma's recent preseason tour. "I had a few offers in the Premier League, but I didn't want to stay. I thought it was time to leave and enjoy a different culture." From this season, Serie A rules state that a 25-man squad must be named at the start of the season, but Cole did not make that list. That effectively means he is not even permitted to play in Serie A this season, leaving only the Coppa Italia as an option. Roma do not enter that competition until Dec. 16, when they will face either Salernitana or Spezia. Should they go through to the quarterfinals, they will be in action again on Jan. 20. The former Arsenal player has accepted that he has felt out of his depth in a more defensive league to what he was used to. "In the Premier League you have smaller more nippy wingers but here it's defensive so you get a big guy on your side and many teams play wing-backs and sometimes you mark two," he said. "Maybe it was a bit too physical for me and I wasn't ready for it."
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