Could Claudio Marchisio return to the Juventus squad this weekend?

There are not enough complimentary adjectives in either the Italian or English languages to explain the importance of Claudio Marchisio to the Juventus squad.

The midfielder was injured towards the end of last season, damaging his knee ligaments and was out of commission for a few months. However, he has made his long slow recovery over the summer and has even been training with the club over the last couple of weeks.

He spoke via the club’s Twitter account -

"I feel in very good shape. I've been working hard all summer to recover in the best way possible and now this is the best part.

"I've rejoined my teammates, resumed training with the ball and I can sense that the moment of my return is getting even nearer."

In addition, his father Antonio Marchisio spoke about how traumatic the injury has been for the 30-year-old, and his motivation to return to the game.

“This was the ugliest moment my son has ever passed through, but thankfully it's nearly over.

"His wife Roberta also played a phenomenal role during the past six months.

“Two things have helped Claudio avoid getting depressed in the past six months; his family and his other great love, Juve. Every time I visited Claudio he was performing the exercises given to him by the physiotherapist. Always. He's a machine.

"His teammates were also fantastic with him. Such moments help you understand how great this group is. When Juve lose, the anger for him is double: as a player and as a fan. I learned not to call him for at least two days after a loss.

"He's now training with the group, however, we must be patient. Being back is one thing but reaching top form is another.

“He said [Gonzalo] Higuain is very very strong and he is also quite impressed by [Marko] Pjaca.

“Claudio have the same dream as a sixth consecutive Scudetto would be incredible. Then there's the cup with big ears..."

Last week, Juventus manager Massimiliano Allegri hinted that Marchisio was close to returning, and in an interview yesterday, fellow midfielder Stefano Sturaro, who was out with a knee injury too, stated that ‘Il Principino’ had recovered as well.

“It's been a tough past three months but I'm delighted to be finally back in action. It's never easy getting back up to speed when the campaign has already started, especially given the period I was out for.

“The start of pre-season is the key time to build up your fitness.

“I'll still need a few matches, but in the meantime I'll continue to give my all in training. That’s the only way to ensure that you're ready when the call comes to enter the action.

“I'm just as pleased about about Claudio Marchisio’s comeback as my own. With the two of us returning, the Coach [Max Allegri] will have an extra pair of bodies to ease the workload on the lads who have started the season so well.

“We all know how important the next few weeks could be, just as they were this time last year. We're in a good position and we're training very well.

“We've made some excellent additions to the group, all of whom have come here to take Juve as far as they can. There are some huge encounters with direct title rivals coming up and we will need to be ready for them.”

It sounds like the much-heralded return of the lifeblood of the Bianconeri is almost upon us.