We got quite the surprise — and not in a good way — when Juventus’ squad for the first leg of their Champions League play-off round matchup against Galatasaray was announced on Monday.
That is because Juventus striker Jonathan David, who has been playing most of the minutes up front ever since Dusan Vlahovic was ruled out injured in December, was not on the squad list.
Instead, David has been forced to miss the trip to Istanbul due to a reported muscle problem that will prevent him from facing Galatasaray
on Tuesday evening. That means Juve manager Luciano Spalletti will either rely on the struggling Loïs Openda up front against the Turkish giants or be forced to get creative when it comes to how he lines up his team in the first leg of their decisive European tie. According to Sky Italia, David is suffering from a groin injury.
David was subbed out at the hour mark in what appeared to be just a tactical sub as a result of Juventus being unjustly sent down to 10 men late in the first half. However, there appears to be more than that it appeared at first.
David is part of an injury list that also involves Vlahovic, Emil Holm and Arek Milik.
Juve midfielder Khephren Thuram is back in the squad after missing the Derby d’Italia over the weekend with a bone bruise he picked up in training. It is still unknown at this time if Thuram will be healthy enough to play from the opening whistle or if he will be limited when it comes to his minutes and be forced to only be an option off the bench.
