Juventus took a slight hit on their aspiration for this season’s Scudetto, having lost 1-0 to Napoli last Saturday. Other than the tumultuous result, another event that caused quite an uproar amongst the Juventus enthusiasts was the injury Juan Cuadrado had sustained during the first half of the game.
Cuadrado started the game in his usual right-back position and played a fair forty-five minutes of football. The Colombian made some surging runs along the right channel and proved to be Juve’s only way to be adventurous in the first half.
In the second half, he got replaced by Alex Sandro, who then swapped position with Danilo to play in his natural left-back position. Later, it was revealed that Cuadrado had picked up a muscle injury during the game.
Although the severity of the respective injury was formerly unknown, it was prejudiced that he would miss the Champions League game against FC Porto and the home game against Crotone in Serie A next Monday.
Juventus will likely have Juan Cuadrado back in early March
As per a report from Goal Italia, Cuadrado is expected to return in early March after the recent medical reports have revealed that the full-back has suffered a low-grade hamstring injury.
The official statement from Juventus reads:
"“The tests that Juan Cuadrado underwent this morning at J | Medical revealed a low-grade lesion of the hamstring of the right thigh . In 10 days it will be re-evaluated.”"
The 32-year-old has been a fascinating outlet under the guidance of Andrea Pirlo. He has registered six assists from 17 Serie A games, showcasing his effectiveness while galloping through the wings for the Bianconeri.
Cuadrado’s absence means it is a huge loss to Andrea Pirlo’s well-structured tactics with his full-backs. However, the Italian gaffer holds several gems at his disposal who could cure Pirlo’s onus by elongating their individual games.
Yet, one should be grateful that the issue is not as bad as it was initially evaluated.