MY ACCOUNT
Juventus captain Giorgio Chiellini is set to miss the first leg of the Bianconeri’s Champions League last-16 tie with a Villarreal after sustaining a calf injury that will reportedly sideline him for a month.
Chiellini, 37, suffered the issue in Juve’s 2-0 win over Hellas Verona on Sunday and a statement on Tuesday confirmed it was a calf strain.
The statement read: “Giorgio Chiellini underwent radiological scans at J Medical today, which revealed a low-grade lesion of the deep musculature of the left calf.”
While Juve have not put a specific timeframe on his recovery, reports across the Italian media suggest he is likely to miss the rest of February.
As such, he is likely to miss five matches, starting with Thursday’s Coppa Italia clash with Sassuolo.
Juve are also due to face Atalanta, Torino and Empoli in Serie A before the end of the month, while they go to Villarreal for the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie on February 22.
However, Chiellini should be able to feature in the return leg on March 16, while Roberto Mancini can still expect to select his captain at the crucial end of their World Cup qualification campaign.
European champions Italy did not secure automatic World Cup qualification, meaning they must face North Macedonia in the play-off semi-finals – Portugal or Turkey await in the play-off finals.
If Italy do not reach Qatar 2022, it will be the first time in history the Azzurri have failed to qualify for successive World Cups.
