Juventus injury situation starting to improve

The Juventus fans who had been hoping against hope that Massimiliano Allegri was going to get fired during the international break will be disappointed come this weekend, but the coach himself will be thrilled to have as close to a full complement of players as he has gotten all season for the upcoming home game against Bologna.

Things do get hectic after that with Juventus facing Serie A defending champions AC Milan in league action the weekend after that, with that clash sandwiched between two must-win games against Maccabi Haifa in what will go a long way towards determining their Champions League fates.

On Tuesday though, three key players returned to training — midfielders Manuel Locatelli and Adrien Rabiot, and fullback Alex Sandro. Goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny had made a return to the squad and was on the bench for the loss away at Monza.

Allegri will have further reinforcements for the game as well with striker Arkadiusz Milik returning to the lineup after serving his one-game suspension for his red card against Salernitana. Young revelation Fabio Miretti picked up an injury for the Italy Under-21s, but it has been deemed a minor knock and he should be available for the game this weekend.

Angel di Maria has been Juve’s most electric forward this season but will be deservedly suspended for two-games for throwing a petulant elbow in that loss at Monza. That leaves three more players Allegri will be without for the longer term — Federico Chiesa, Paul Pogba and Kaio Jorge — with Chiesa and Pogba reportedly on target for a late-October return.

It will be no understatement to say that Allegri’s future as Juve coach will hinge on the next few games as the Bianconeri can ill-afford to drop any more points both in the league or in Europe. However, the club have painted themselves into a corner with the massive contract they have given the coach and are going to be stuck footing the bill if they do fire the 55-year-old. It might just come down to how much goodwill with the fans the club leadership are willing to sacrifice by keeping him on, especially if results don’t start going Allegri’s way.