Following a three-year hiatus due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Juventus made their return to the United States this summer, spending around 10 days touring in the country while taking part in a pre-friendly tournament.

As we all know, the reasons behind such trips are mostly economic, allowing the club to extend its brand throughout the enormous American market. However, the financial benefits arguably arrive at the expense of the physical aspect.

According to ilBianconero, the heavy pre-season schedule might be one of the main reasons behind Juve’s recurring injury problems.

Even prior to the start of the campaign, Max Allegri had already lost the services of Paul Pogba and Wojciech Szczesny. For his part, Weston McKennie also sustained an injury on home soil but still managed to pull off a speedy recovery and make his return against Sassuolo.

Nonetheless, the season opener saw Angel Di Maria leaving the pitch in the second half with an adductor injury which could rule him out of action for a while. Even Denis Zakaria had some physical difficulties at the end of the match.

A section of Juventus fans have identified the long trips endured during pre-season as the main culprit for the early injury crisis.

After returning from USA, Juventus hosted Atletico Madrid at the Continassa training ground and looked completely exhausted as the Spaniards routed them.

Aside from the three friendlies played in the United States (in three different cities), the players had to represent the club in all sort of social activities during their stay, which obviously didn’t help matters.