Matthijs de Ligt recovers from COVID-19

And then there was one.

Juventus announced on Saturday that their resident Dutchman, Matthijs de Ligt, has tested negative for COVID-19 following the club’s latest round of testing and will be available to play in Sunday’s lunchtime kickoff against Bologna. With Juan Cuadrado also making his return from his own COVID-19 absence earlier in the week, that means Alex Sandro is the only Juventus senior squad player currently out due to a coronavirus diagnosis.

From Juventus’ official website:

Matthijs de Ligt carried out, as per protocol, two controls of molecular test (swab) for Covid-19 with negative results. Therefore, the player has recovered and is no longer subjected to the isolation regime. He will join the team at the J Hotel for the retreat this evening and will be included in the squad list for tomorrow’s match.

Could de Ligt immediately return to the starting lineup like Cuadrado did for the Supercoppa against Napoli? I mean, sure. When Juventus announced that de Ligt was positive for COVID-19, they didn’t include the detail(s) of if he was symptomatic or not. Considering it has taken him less than two weeks to test negative, that could suggest that he was asymptomatic and simply needed a negative test to get the all clear.

Either way, Juventus’ best defender and one of the club’s most important players is back after two weeks away from all of his teammates. That’s never not a bad thing.