Juventus suffer double blow ahead of Champions League clash against Chelsea
Chelsea have been handed a double boost ahead of their Champions League group game against Juventus on Wednesday after Paulo Dybala and Alvaro Morata were both ruled out of the match due to injury.
Dybala opened the scoring in sensational fashion for the Old Lady against Sampdoria inside 10 minutes on Sunday before being forced off midway through the first half in tears after pulling his left thigh as Massimiliano Allegri’s men ultimately won 3-2.
Morata came off with eight minutes left of the match to be replaced by Moise Kean and won’t face his former club due to an issue with his right hamstring. Both men will also miss the derby against Torino at the weekend.
Paulo Dybala brilliantly opened the scoring against Sampdoria in a 3-2 win for Juventus
However, the Argentine was forced off after pulling his left thigh midway through the first half
Both he and Alvaro Morata (above) have now been ruled out of Wednesday’s match with Chelsea
A club statement read: ‘Diagnostic tests were carried out this morning at J Medical. The results showed for Alvaro Morata a low-grade muscle injury of the hamstring in the right thigh.
‘For Paulo Dybala, an elongation of the semitendinosus muscle in the left thigh. Both will be available after the international break.’
Having just returned to Juve after a miserable spell at Everton, Kean is now Allegri’s only fit senior striker.
Moise Kean is set to lead the line against the Champions League holders in the Group H clash
Juve have rallied after early-season defeats and now sit ninth in Serie A after six matches
Both Chelsea and Juve won their opening Group H encounters, with the Champions League holders defeating Zenit St Petersburg 1-0 courtesy of Romelu Lukaku, while Dybala and Morata scored on the cusp of half-time as the Italian giants defeated Malmo 3-0 in Sweden.
After a poor start to the campaign saw them pick up one point in three Serie A games – and lose Cristiano Ronaldo to Manchester United, Allegri’s men have rallied in recent weeks, beating Malmo, Spezia and Sampdoria as well as drawing with AC Milan to regain some optimism.
