Juventus: Should Chiesa come straight back into Allegri’s XI?

Ahead of Juventus’ visit to Naples for their third Serie A fixture against Napoli last weekend, a piece of news hit the headlines that left Juventini scratching their head in agony or perhaps annoyance.

Reports came forth to confirm that Federico Chiesa had picked up a muscle injury while away on international duty with Italy and wouldn’t be available for the game against the Scudetto aspirants on Saturday.

Proven to be a key player under the management of Andrea Pirlo for Juventus and then under Roberto Mancini for Italy at Euro 2020, Chiesa has the pace that helps a team hit their opponents on the counter. Plus, the Juventus winger’s stamina provides the team with an engine that is always eager to press down an opponent, meaning Chiesa not only plays the role of an offensive threat but also carries out some defensive duties altogether. Some may regard him as the jack of all trades.

Following the departure of Cristiano Ronaldo in the summer transfer window, Federico Chiesa is now considered the new poster boy for I Bianconeri. Touted to be the future of Juventus and Italy, Chiesa has established himself at an elite level. Missing a player of his quality should not be comfortable for any manager in the world, let alone Massimiliano Allegri.

Juventus visited Napoli with a team that had no Federico Chiesa. With Chiesa, things could’ve been better as Juventus returned empty-handed, losing the game 2-1, with Kalidou Koulibaly stealing the decider at the dying minutes of the game.

Juventus had no Federico Chiesa against Malmo, either!

With just one point from the first three games in the domestic campaign, Juve had an appalling start to Serie A 2021/22. However, there was no time for weeping over the results, with their first UEFA Champions League game against Malmo FF coming closer.

Federico Chiesa didn’t travel with the team to Sweden, where Juventus took on the Swedish champions of the last season. Goals from Alex Sandro, Paulo Dybala and Alvaro Morata helped the Old Lady secure a 3-0 victory, which was, of course, their first win of the season. It was a significant occasion and result.

The euphoria reached the limit when it became apparent that Juventus remained the only Italian team that had won in the opening matchday of Champions League 2021/22. Furthermore, there was a firm resolution in their performance against Malmo. If anything, it seemed as if Allegri had fielded Juve’s best team against Malmo since he returned to the throne.

What is the latest on Chiesa’s availability?

According to the latest report from Sky Italia, Federico Chiesa, having missed two matches on the trot in total for Juventus, was spotted at Continassa, training with his colleagues, including Federico Bernardeschi.

The story claims that Chiesa will be included in the squad for Juve’s next game against AC Milan — another high-octane encounter — for La Vecchia Signora this Sunday. But it is not clear whether the 23-year-old forward will start the game against a flamboyant Milan side.

In addition to that, Allegri was observed preparing his team in a 4-3-3 formation on Thursday morning. In defence, Alex Sandro was playing in an advanced position, with a three-man defence covering his back.

Paulo Dybala was seen honing his attribute as a false nine, with Alvaro Morata and Juan Cuadrado obtaining the flanks to offer the width. It would be interesting to see whether they put these endeavours into action against Milan or keep it under their shelves for more severe situations.

Will it be rational for Juventus to bring him right back to the starting XI against Milan?

Federico Chiesa’s addition to the squad will surely be a huge boost for the Old Lady and Max Allegri. The returning gaffer will now have more options — more options with different traits — to choose his first XI from. But would it be rational for Juventus to start Fede Chiesa right away against Milan? Obviously not!

After all, it was a muscle injury that Chiesa suffered during the international break. With muscle injuries, the player carrying the knock needs to be handled in a much careful manner.

It is understood that a player with muscle injury should never be rushed into action. Another tear in the infected muscle could make things worse for the player. And he, as a result of further damage, could miss a longer run of games than before. Hence, Juventus must evaluate the situation with Chiesa. Ultimately, he is one of the best they have.

Sky Italia marked him as a card for the game against Milan — maybe in the sense that he will start the game from the bench. He should take the field only if the situation demands.

Nevertheless, despite having early struggles, Juve were commanding in their performance against Malmo in the midweek. Yes, they do need a positive result from the weekend. But there is no obvious sanity in remaking what is not broken — at least not in this case.