Claudio Marchisio amongst five Juventus players called up to Italy squad for Liechtenstein, Germany fixtures

I think it’s safe to say that Claudio Marchisio’s return to the Italy squad was always going to be shorter than the amount of time it took for him to return from his ACL surgery. That’s just a fact. But, when it comes to Italy

All of two weeks after Marchisio returned to the Juventus starting lineup against Sampdoria, Juventus’ 30-year-old midfield anchor has been recalled by Italy manager Giampiero Ventura for the Azzurri’s World Cup qualifier against Liechtenstein and friendly with Germany at the San Siro in Milan.

Marchisio is part of a five-player Juventus contingent that was called up by Ventura for the latest round of international break fun. Here, in full, are the players included to take part in Ventuna’s third round of international fixtures since taking over for some guy named Antonio Conte:

GOALKEEPERS: Gianluigi Buffon (Juventus), Gianluigi Donnarumma (Milan), Mattia Perin (Genoa)

DEFENDERS: Luca Antonelli (Milan), Andrea Barzagli (Juventus), Leonardo Bonucci (Juventus), Matteo Darmian (Manchester United), Mattia De Sciglio (Milan), Alessio Romagnoli (Milan), Daniele Rugani (Juventus), Davide Zappacosta (Torino)

MIDFIELDERS: Danilo Cataldi (Lazio), Daniele De Rossi (Roma), Claudio Marchisio (Juventus), Marco Parolo (Lazio), Marco Verratti (Paris Saint Germain)

WIDE MEN: Federico Bernardeschi (Fiorentina), Giacomo Bonaventura (Milan), Antonio Candreva (Inter), Lorenzo Insigne (Napoli), Matteo Politano (Sassuolo), Nicola Sansone (Villarreal)

FORWARDS: Andrea Belotti (Torino), Eder Citadin Martins (Inter), Manolo Gabbiadini (Napoli), Ciro Immobile (Lazio), Leonardo Pavoletti (Genoa), Simone Zaza (West Ham United)

GODDAMMIT WHERE THE HELL IS SIMONE PADOIN?

(I digress.)

Who knows what Marchisio’s role will be with Italy over the course of the next week and a half of international duty after he missed so much time due to his ACL surgery rehabilitation. Much to the credit of the Juventus management, Max Allegri has been patient when it comes to working Marchisio back into the squad. He’s started two games and come off the bench in another. Marchisio most recently played 90 minutes for the first time since his return in Juventus’ 1-1 draw against Lyon in the Champions League on Wednesday.

Maybe Marchisio will come off the bench in both games and he won’t be at serious risk in either of Italy’s outings. You just hope that Ventura doesn’t over do it with Marchisio’s playing time in a short period of rest in between and basically do the exact opposite of what Allegri has clearly planned out. Be nice to Claudio because Juventus needs him when he comes back from international duty, Azzurri.