A day doesn’t seem to go by without yet another Juventus injury woe, so in an effort to stay on top of the mounting list of casualties, here’s a brief roundup of who’s out of action.
Paulo Dybala – Despite travelling to South America to join up with the Argentina team, Dybala has been forced to pull-out of the squad due to a tear to the right biceps femoris muscle he sustained in the Derby Della Mole. He’s expected to return to Turin today for further tests.
Stephan Lichtsteiner – The Swiss right-back skipped training yesterday due to a calf injury. He’s expected to miss tomorrow’s friendly match against the Republic of Ireland but will return to the Switzerland squad for the second match, according to GdS.
Claudio Marchisio – I Principino is still out with a muscular problem affecting his left calf. The original statement from the club read: “During training yesterday Marchisio suffered a muscular problem to his left calf. Checks late last night showed a first grade soleus muscle injury and the prognosis is for 20 days.” Given that was posted on 15th March, Marchisio could be expected back in action for 3/4th April, the same weekend as Juve’s match against Empoli.
Giorgio Chiellini – The defender suffered ‘an overload of the soleus muscle in his right calf’ during the Bianconeri’s 2-0 victory over Inter in week 27. “Chiellini is due to return to action in approximately ten days” read the original statement, but the centre-back hasn’t been seen since, missing the all-important Champions League clash against Bayern Munich. There’s been no official word from the club as yet, but today’s GdS suggests Chiellini will be fit and ready for the match against Empoli.
Andrea Barzagli – The veteran defender had to drop out of the Italy squad with a thigh injury which was later confirmed in a statement from Italy’s team doctor: “The other problem concerns Barzagli, who has a muscular strain in his left leg so we decided along with the CT [Antonio Conte] to send him back to Turin for treatment.” According to GdS and Sky, Barzagli is expected to undergo tests today and may return to the squad for Empoli if the results are positive.
Martin Caceres – The Uruguayan centre-back is out for the remainder of the season and the latest news from Sky/Gianluca Di Marzio suggests Napoli will be hoping to sign him on a free transfer this summer.
In addition to the above, Leonardo Bonucci, Alex Sandro and Sami Khedira are suspended and will miss the Empoli match (Juventus are expected to appeal Khedira’s red card).
and now add Bonucci to the list.