What unfolded before our eyes on Sunday evening was an all-time Calcio classic. The second half between AS Roma and Juventus was utter lunacy.
And there was one man who missed it all.
After combining with Paulo Dybala to cancel out Tammy Abraham’s early opener, Federico Chiesa exited the Stadio Olimpico before half-time with a knee injury. He damaged his left knee in a challenge with Chris Smalling midway through the first half and after trying to run it off, he went down in pain for a second time after trying to sprint away from Ainsley Maitland-Niles.
Per #Chiesa si tratta di una distorsione al ginocchio sinistro da valutare nelle prossime ore ⛔️🇮🇹@GoalItalia
— Romeo Agresti (@romeoagresti) January 9, 2022
Chiesa was replaced by eventual goalscorer Dejan Kulusevski as Juventus came back from 3-1 down in the space of seven second-half minutes to win 4-3. Before all the drama ensued, Romeo Agresti reported that Chiesa had picked up a left knee sprain and added that he’ll be evaluated further on Sunday night.
For many, the Italian’s status was more important than Sunday’s result, but there’s no doubting that Juve’s eventual victory will mask fears over Chiesa’s status.
The electric winger had only just returned from a thigh injury that had ruled him out for just over a month. He scored on his return to action against Napoli on Thursday and he looked lively once more on Sunday before he was forced off.
Video on Juventus’ Federico #Chiesa.
— Dr. Rajpal Brar, DPT (@3cbPerformance) January 9, 2022
Can see left knee ripple as he’s turning with knee dropping inwards. Potentially indicates an ACL rupture especially within context of other reports that he has a knee ligament sprain. Awaiting examination & imaging results pic.twitter.com/ewJ2kXud07
We don’t know just how bad this latest setback is, but he looked in considerable pain after going down for a second time. Any serious ligament damage would be a killer blow to both Chiesa in a World Cup year and Juventus in the second half of the season. Hopefully, the injury isn’t that sinister.
The Bianconeri’s stunning victory over the Giallorossi kept them within touching distance of Serie A’s top-four after Napoli and Atalanta both won earlier on Sunday. Their advantage over Roma, meanwhile, extended to six points.