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It looks as though we're going to have to wait a little bit longer before we have a little La Joya back in our lives.
According to La Stampa's Max Nerozzi, Juventus striker Paulo Dybala will miss his second consecutive game due to the muscle injury he picked up in the Turin derby three weeks ago. That means no Dybala stepping onto the San Siro field when Juve face rival Milan on Saturday night. That also means that easily one of Juventus' best players — and arguably the team MVP this season — will miss out on another chance for Juve to get closer to the Scudetto.
Good thing there's Álvaro Morata. And Mario Mandzukic. And Simone Zaza.
Depth is good. Yes, very good.
Ever since he returned from international duty with Argentina — why he actually made the trip in the first place is beyond me, but what do I know anyway, right? — Dybala has been on his own individual rehab program away from the team at daily training sessions. As recent as Wednesday it was still that way, with Dybala not taking part in first team training.
With no Dybala — who had the game-winning goal against Milan back in November — expected to be in the lineup, it is likely that we will be seeing the same Morata-Mandzukic partnership up front as was the case in the 1-0 win over Empoli in Turin this past Saturday. Morata may very well be playing as well as he has all season, while Mandzukic was the one who got the game-winner against Empoli.
So, there may be no Dybala, but it's not like a bunch of scrubs are going to be filling his shoes once again this weekend.
No matter what, though, we await your return, Paulo. Just don't be like Giorgio Chiellini and get hurt in your first game back. (Just an idea I had, you guys.)