Juventus could get Paulo Dybala back in the lineup soon

Juventus have missed star forward Paulo Dybala for almost a month now, as he suffered an injury in the first half of an eventual 3-1 win over Sassuolo on Jan. 11. It seemed like Dybala could be held out until the start of the Champions League knockout stages against FC Porto in a couple of weeks, but now it seems like he will return sooner.

According to a report from Tuttosport’s Filippo Cornacchia, Paulo Dybala could play for Juventus in the second leg of the Coppa Italia semifinals next week.

Juve won the first leg without him, buoyed by two first-half goals from Cristiano Ronaldo after individual errors from rivals Inter Milan at the San Siro. The Bianconeri would hold on for a 2-1 win.

Having Dybala back would surely be a big boost in the third Derby d’Italia fixture of the 2020-2021 campaign. But the report from Tuttosport also goes on to state that there is an outside chance Dybala can face fellow top-six side AS Roma this weekend.

Juventus should keep playing things safe with Paulo Dybala

It would probably be a lot wiser for the Bianconeri to play it as safe as possible with Dybala and hold him out of the Roma game. Dybala’s already been injured before this season, which slowed him down significantly to start his critical contract year, so a rush is not a good idea for either party here, as tough as Roma may be right now.

As a whole, it’s wonderful to hear that Dybala is getting closer to returning. He could be an X-Factor off the bench against Inter if Juventus choose to ease him in. And he will, of course, be important to Juve’s run in the Champions League, as they are looking to wash away the taste of last year’s atrocious performance in the tournament under Maurizio Sarri.

Hopefully, Dybala can get a good run of games, build confidence and health, and start to click in Andrea Pirlo’s new system.