Juventus News: Andrea Pirlo handed injury boost ahead of the Turin Derby

The game against Benevento last week was Juventus‘ turn to close the gap on the runaway Serie A leaders Inter Milan. But, they missed their opportunity, especially due to some individual errors inflicted by lapses of concentration.

A toothless attacking force, relied totally on their talisman Cristiano Ronaldo, succumbed to a narrow 1-0 defeat at the hands of the Serie A newbies.

Juventus manager Andrea Pirlo had to endure the backlash from both the media and the club enthusiasts.

However, it was nothing new as he has had to endure criticism more than often in his first season as a Juventus manager — for firstly not matching Inter in an imposing title race and then getting eliminated from the Round of 16 of the UEFA Champions League while playing relatively less deadly opponents in Porto.

It can be said that the international break has arrived at a perfect time for the 10th consecutive Scudetto aspirants. In order to regain the lost moment, Pirlo now has time in his hand to ponder upon the flaws and fix them.

To aid further headache of the manager, Juventus are welcoming two superstars back from their respective injuries ahead of the Derby della Mole — the battle of the best clubs in Turin.

Il Maestro and his troops are visiting Olimpico di Torino to face Torino next Satuday. And Juventus fans could be hopeful of seeing some significant changes to the team that shockingly lost to Filippo Inzaghi’s men.

Juventus are set to include Paulo Dybala and Alex Sandro in the Matchday squad against Torino

Since making the league appearance against Sassuolo on January 10, Paulo Dybala has been on the treatment table, nursing his knee injury. And his return date was like a mystery until today. According to the report from Calciomercato, the Argentine playmaker is likely to be added to Juve’s visiting squad for the derby.

During this international break, the 27-year-old has returned to full training. However, one thing that he will be looking to garner next week is match fitness via some adequate game time.

Another prodigy that should be ready to make his comeback from injury on Saturday is Alex Sandro. As covered by TuttoJuve, Alex Sandro has trained at the Juventus Training Center today and will now enjoy the two days of rest before returning to full training on Tuesday.

Alex Sandro picked up a muscle injury against Cagliari a fortnight back — a knock that kept him out of the squad for the Benevento game. Federico Bernardeschi deputized. However, his inability to pick the assigned position influenced Benevento to push the ball through the left-flank, from where Juve conceded the one and only goal of the night.

Both Paulo Dybala and Alex Sandro could prove to be an important part of what is going to be Bianconeri’s final push for this season’s domestic title. Juventus are yet to play Napoli, Atalanta, Fiorentina, and the two Milan clubs after locking horns with Torino in the upcoming weeks.