Reports: Paulo Dybala subbed off as a precaution vs. Uruguay

It wouldn’t be an international break if we didn’t have to have one or two anxiety spikes because of a Juventus player potentially getting hurt while playing for his country, right?

And of course it had to involve Paulo Dybala because that’s just how things work.

Thankfully, it doesn’t sound like our anxiety will last all that long.

According to Goal Italia’s Romeo Agresti and Giovanni Albanese of La Gazzetta dello Sport, Dybala suffered what is being described as “a muscle overload in the calf” and was subbed off at halftime of Argentina’s World Cup qualifier against Uruguay on Friday night as a precaution. Later in the same game, Juve midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur came off in the second half after taking a knock to his knee. But, like Dybala, it’s reported to be not as serious as maybe initially thought.

As Agresti ends the tweet below, “Both are of no concern.”

Annnnnnnnnnnnnnnnd exhale. At least a little bit.

Dybala was getting his first start for Argentina since November 2019 — which was also against Uruguay — and had recorded the assist on Angel Di Maria’s opener in the seventh minute. However, his appearance lasted all of 45 minutes after he reported some pain following a tackle by Uruguay defender Joaquin Piquerez.

Argentina have not released an official statement on Dybala’s condition — which could very well be a sign that the knock he picked up Friday night is nothing all too serious.

Argentina faces Brazil on Tuesday, and whether Dybala is able to play will be something that could be another hint of just how much the knock is still bothering him. With the South American countries only playing two World Cup qualifiers during this international break, Dybala and the rest of Juve’s South American contingent should return with plenty of time to spare before Saturday’s game against Lazio at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome.

Hopefully there’s continued good news when Dybala likely visits J Medical upon his return to Turin. But at least the signs are pointing in that direction in the hours after the initial injury happened.