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Maybe, just maybe, Max Allegri will soon have a full squad to choose from again. Maybe. That is, if the stupid injury bug that has bit Juventus at every turn of the long and winding road we go on for nine months out of the year continues to ease up as we roll on through the second half of the 2015-16 season.
From juventus.com's recap of Thursday's training session:
As is the norm for a training session the day after a match, Allegri's charges were split into two groups with those involved at the Stadio OIimpico undergoing a routine warm down session in the gym and the remainder of the squad focusing on ball work and movement in the final third.
Joining the latter was Andrea Barzagli, as predicted by the boss last Saturday, as the defender continues to work towards a return to action after a four-game absence through injury. Roberto Pereyra also featured in parts of today's workout, stepping up his own rehabilitation program.
Two quick thoughts
- This is good.
- This is really, really good.
So that's basically the same thing, but this is good news, so I am excited about it. It's for one main reason: In what will be one of the busiest and most important stretches of the schedule over the next six weeks, Juventus will have two of the lengthiest injury absentees back in the fold. We might not know officially when they will actually be available for Allegri to use in games, but the fact both Barzagli and Pereyra are back in training means they're getting close at the very least.
In terms of their status for this weekend's showdown with Roma, who knows. Based on how it's described, I have a hard time thinking Pereyra would be available. Barzagli, on the other hand, might be considering how Allegri has talked about the 34-year-old defender's recovery in recent weeks. The good thing is Daniele Rugani and Martin Cáceres are more than just adequate cover and have proven that over the last four games coming out of the holiday break.