Juventus star suffers muscular issue before Lazio match
Juventus have already been without Matthijs de Ligt to start the 2020-2021 season, and they are down another center back before the Lazio match.
Muscular issues are nothing new for veteran center back Giorgio Chiellini, who missed much of the 2019-2020 season with injuries. The Juventus captain has suffered another injury in the lead-up to Sunday afternoon’s match against Lazio at the Stadio Olimpico.
According to a report from Giovanni Albanese, Giorgio Chiellini suffered a muscular injury during Saturday’s training session, one day before the match. Chiellini’s injury is to his left thigh and will need to be evaluated over the ensuing days.
The international break is coming up, so the injury may only take Chiellini out for the match against Lazio. Juventus chairman Andrea Agnelli is reportedly considering preventing national teams from using Juve’s players over the break.
Chiellini, now 36, has made two appearances in Serie A and two appearances in the Champions League so far this season. When he’s healthy, Juve have gone with a back three of Danilo, Leonardo Bonucci, and Chiellini. But for the most part, Merih Demiral has started over Chiellini due to injury.
Juventus can play things safe with Giorgio Chiellini
According to WhoScored.com, Chiellini has averaged 1.0 interceptions per game for Juventus in both the Champions League and Serie A.
Hopefully, Chiellini’s muscular issue isn’t serious, but it would be wise for the Bianconeri to be as cautious as possible with the star center back. He can still play a key role in the race for a tenth straight Scudetto this season.
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After the international break, the Old Lady of Turin will play against Cagliari on Saturday, Nov. 21 and then Ferencvaros in the Champions League on Nov. 24. But Chiellini won’t be truly needed until the early December derby fixture against Torino, when the Bianconeri should also finally have Dutch superstar Matthijs de Ligt back for his first experience in Andrea Pirlo’s back three.