Ahead of the second leg of their round-of-16 clash with Bayern Munich on Wednesday night, Juventus were rocked by the news that Paulo Dybala will miss out.
The Argentine suffered a muscular injury and was forced to leave training early on Monday, with an official statement from the club revealing the blow.
“Paulo Dybala and Claudio Marchisio won’t be available for the match against Bayern Munich at the Allianz Arena on Wednesday.
“The Argentine striker was released early from training yesterday. Diagnostic tests carried out this morning have ruled out a fracture, but shown an edema overload of the left soleus muscle.
“He therefore won’t be available for the Champions League match and his condition will be monitored daily ahead of the match on Sunday against Torino.”
The 22-year-old has been an integral part of Juve’s success so far this season, scoring 18 goals and providing eight assists in 39 appearances in all competitions in his first year in Turin.
As a result, without his creativity and goal threat in the final third, the Bianconeri face an even more difficult task of advancing to the quarter-finals at the expense of Pep Guardiola’s side.
Having fought back from a two-goal deficit in the first leg in Turin, the momentum was seemingly with the Italian champions as they headed to Bavaria looking for their first win in Munich since 2003.
However, without Dybala and Marchisio, Massimiliano Allegri will be forced to consider his options and that in turn could see them lose their edge in front of goal as well as a crucial player in midfield with Marchisio more than capable of dictating the tempo of the game.
The odds are certainly now stacked against Juve, who remain the only Italian side still in the Champions League after Roma’s elimination at the hands of Real Madrid last week.
As they continue to battle Napoli for the Serie A title this season, progress in Europe was seen as a crucial part of their campaign. Without Dybala, they will have to prove that their strength in depth will be enough to make the difference in what will be a huge European night for both sides at the Allianz Arena.