Yesterday, Juventus announced the 23-man squad that traveled to Bologna for Sunday night’s clash against the Rossoblu.
The list featured one notable omission in the form of Angel Di Maria. While the club announced that the veteran is out with a knock to the ankle, several reporters have been skeptical about the story.
La Gazzetta dello Sport journalist Marco Guidi explains how the timing of the announced injury raised doubts over the validity of the story.
The reporter believes that had Di Maria has been truly injured, the incident would have occurred in one of the training sessions ahead of the trip to Bologna.
Yet, Max Allegri never mentioned it in his press conference on Saturday. However, the manager suggested that the Argentine and others could be rested.
So Guidi claims that Di Maria might have decided to omit himself from the squad after learning that he won’t be in the starting formation. In this case, the reported injury would be a mere facade to hide the real situation.
Juve FC say
Whether this is truly the case or not, it’s hard to tell at the moment. However, Di Maria is a true professional and one of the most experienced members of the squad, and one wouldn’t expect this type of demeanor from a star of his caliber.
The former PSG man can always influence the encounter and tip the scale in the Old Lady’s favor, even when coming off the bench.
So regardless of the reason behind his absence, let’s hope we don’t regret it.
