Leonardo Bonucci is the latest name to add to Juventus’ injury list

It wouldn’t be an international break without injuries, right?

it’s not just Giorgio Chiellini missing some time, either. As we now know — and probably suspected based on how he’s been trying to soldier through some of the last few times he’s played at the club level — Leonardo Bonucci probably isn’t going to play for Italy during the current international break and now his status for next Saturday night’s return against Cagliari is very much up in the air based on what we know.

Bonucci, who has been battling this muscle injury for a couple of weeks now, had this to say during a press conference on Saturday ahead of Italy’s UEFA Nations League game against Wojciech Szczesny and Poland:

“I wanted to be here at all costs, but unfortunately it’s not going to happen. I tried everything, I tried to grit my teeth over the last 20 days, as even against Lazio I had some pain and hoped it would go away, but it kept increasing. I asked too much of my body.

“I am forced to stop now and in Turin we’ll evaluate how long it’ll take to recover. It’s a pity, as I really wanted to be here, as the Italy squad is unique and we saw so many debutants on Wednesday (in the 4-0 friendly win over Estonia), and it’s satisfying even for someone with as much experience as me.”

(Source: Football Italia)

If the pain kept increasing rather than going away as time goes on, that isn’t exactly a good sign for a quick recovery. And, seeing as we’re about to be less than a week away from Juventus starting off an incredibly busy five-week stretch before the Christmas break,

That means if Bonucci is out for decent amount of time — and his diagnosis will obviously be more concrete once he returns to Turin and undergoes tests — then Juventus find themselves in quite the bind entering a busy and very important stretch of games to close out the calendar year. It also means that Juve, as it stands now, will only have two center backs healthy in Danilo and Merih Demiral as we await Matthijs de Ligt officially getting clearance from the doctors to return to the field.

And while it is expected that de Ligt will be back following the completion of the international break, all we know about his status is that he still partially training with the group.

But with Chiellini already out and Bonucci now at risk of missing next weekend’s game against Cagliari, you know what that could mean, everybody ...

Photo by Daniele Badolato - Juventus FC/Juventus FC via Getty Images

Hashtag SOON.

We await your return, you wonderful Dutchman. Come back soon — and 100 percent healthy. We don’t need that shoulder acting up again.