Fears have been eased regarding the injury that Juventus defender Giorgio Chielline sustained in his side's humiliating Coppa Italia loss to Atalanta.
The holders went down 3-0 at the Stadio Atleti Azzurri d'Italia, after Chiellini was forced off inside the first 20 minutes with what looked like a calf injury.
Though he will undergo the official tests on Friday, Sky Sports Italia, via Football Italia, are reporting that the Italian should be back to full fitness in two weeks or so.
The news came after it was revealed I Bianconeri had attempted a shock swoop for estranged Chelsea centre back Gary Cahill, after previously coveting the Englishman's teammate Andreas Christensen.
However, the 33-year-old is said to have rejected their advances, with his family eager to stay in west London.
And, though the club are clearly still attempting to accrue some rearguard backup, Massimiliano Allegri was not too worried by the state of his star centre half.
Speaking to JTV after the match, as quoted by Goal, he explained: "Let's see. He has a discomfort on the outer calf. It should not be anything to worry about, otherwise there will be [Martin] Caceres.”
Allegri was worried, however, by his side's lacklustre performance in the shock upset, as he proclaimed: "We had a bad first half on Sunday, then there was a reaction. However, everything went wrong tonight. We gave away the first and third goal. Our opponents deserved to win – they had more energy and perhaps more mental strength."
Much of the uncertainty in Juve's performance came as a direct result of Chiellini's enforced departure, with Mattia De Sciglio forced to play in an unnatural central role.
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And Allegri admitted: "I'm sorry for De Sciglio, he had done well up until the mistake. Chiellini came out right away, but injuries are part of the game.
“But as I’ve said, that’s football. If you react to them in the right way, these nights can do you good and help you to raise your level of focus. Obviously, that needs to start on Saturday with a win over Parma."
The Old Lady are now left with just two fully fit central defenders, Daniele Rugani and the returning Martin Caceres. Hence their desire to bring in Cahill, who would be elligible for the Champions League. Clearly they will now have to look elsewhere.
Source : 90min