Stephan Lichtsteiner unlikely to face Napoli after spending Wednesday night in the hospital

So if you sat there while watching Juventus play Frosinone and started wondering to yourself, "Why the heck would Max Allegri substitute Stephan Lichtsteiner with Giorgio Chiellini to begin the second half?" well, then you're in luck. About 16 hours after the fact, we have an answer as to why the Swiss Express had to be removed from the game.

To Juventus' official website we go. Here's the official word on Lichtsteiner's condition:

Stephan Lichtsteiner was last night taken to Mauriziano Hospital after reporting breathing difficulties during the interval of the Bianconeri's Serie A encounter with Frosinone at Juventus Stadium.

He was kept under observation throughout the night and discharged this morning after the symptoms subsided. His condition will be monitored over the coming days.

The defender did not train today and it is unlikely that he will be available for this weekend's trip to Napoli.

Soooooooooo...this sucks. It really, really sucks. Another important player likely not available for another early-season test aka this weekend's trip to Southern Italy to play Napoli. That sounds wonderful. Not only is this Juventus team struggling to begin the season, but their luck when it comes to injuries — and now breathing difficulties — has been about as bad as you can imagine. When I jokingly said something along the lines of "We'll have to wait until the day after each game to hear about the latest Juventus injury situation," I didn't want them to take it seriously.

Yet they have — even if they aren't mindful of what we talk about here on BWRAO.

And with Juventus already announcing that the odds of Lichtsteiner playing against Napoli this weekend aren't very good at all, that means Max Allegri will once again have to tinker with a lineup that has lacked any kind of continuity at all to begin the season. Does this mean we'll see Juan Cuadrado out wide on the right in a 3-5-2 formation? Or, dare I say, Simone Padoin coming in for Lichtsteiner to play right back? I don't know. It really is anybody's best guess right now.

I'm just glad Lichtsteiner has been discharged from the hospital and seems to be much feeling better. The last thing we need to worry about is one of Juve's players having serious trouble breathing going forward. Hamstring or muscle strains are one thing. Potentially having very serious health problems like the inability to breathe properly takes things up to a whole different level.