Juventus can breathe a sigh of relief as Teun Koopmeiners has apparently evaded injury and could make a swift return to action.
The Dutchman has been a key player for Thiago Motta since his arrival in late August on the back of a soap opera that lasted for almost eight months. The 26-year-old has mostly been featuring as an attacking midfielder, playing right behind Dusan Vlahovic, but in his last outing in Monza, he started in a deeper role, connecting with Manuel Locatelli in the double pivot as the manager opted to start with four attackers, including the returning Nico Gonzalez in the Trequartista role.
However, Koopmeiners’ experiment as a central midfielder only lasted for 45 minutes, as he was nowhere to be seen after break, with Khephren Thuram replacing him on the pitch. It was later revealed that the former Atalanta man suffered a physical issue in his adductor.
The Netherlands international thus arrived at the J|Medical Centre on Monday to undergo all necessary physical tests, while Motta and his technical held their breath.
Luckily, the outcome was positive, as the in-depth analyses didn’t detect any injuries, reveals IlBianconero. The source doesn’t rule out an immediate return to action, starting with the big tilt against Fiorentina which will take place at the Allianz Stadium on Sunday.
Therefore, it remains to be seen if Koopmeiners will be selected in the starting lineup as usual, and if he’ll be deployed in a deep role once again, or return to his more familiar role behind Vlahovic.
But more importantly, the Bianconeri faithful are still waiting to see the best version of the player, the one that delighted Serie A fans over the past few years but has yet to show up in Turin.
The midfielder only has one goal to his name since joining the Turin-based giants. His solitary strike ensued in the 2-2 draw against Bologna a couple of weeks ago.
Wrong… He has 2 goals.