Allegri reveals new Bonucci injury and appears to aim dig at Ronaldo

Massimiliano Allegri reveals that Leonardo Bonucci will miss the Turin derby and is in doubt for the Champions League fixture against Villareal next week.

The Italy centre-back played his first game in 2022 against Atalanta last week but has been forced to the sidelines again.

“Tomorrow’s game is really complicated. Surely there won’t be Leonardo Bonucci. He has calf fatigue and we’ll see if he can recover for Tuesday. He played in Bergamo and he was already fatigued in the first half,” Allegri said at a press conference.

“I don’t know if Dusan Vlahovic, Alvaro Morata and Paulo Dybala will play. Federico Bernardeschi is still not ready because of an adductor problem, so we can’t take any risk. Federico Chiesa is out, Giorgio Chiellini is out, Danilo is suspended.

“Juan Cuadrado will play at right-back tomorrow. Moise Kean is feeling better and tomorrow I will decide who will play in attack, he played well against Atalanta and is an important player, especially now with so many games.

“I have to doubts in midfield Zak [Denis Zakaria] or McKennie, Locatelli or Arthur.

“The derby is always a special game, we play against a Torino side that has the real soul of the Granata. Ivan Juric has brought their DNA back to the club,” Allegri continued.

“Ivan did well at Verona and is doing well at Torino. Torino, Verona and Atalanta are physical teams that play with great intensity,” he continued.

“We’ll play at home, I know the stadium will be sold out, although the capacity is reduced to 50%. It will be a complicated game, the third against teams that play in the same way. I hope we learned something in the first two.”

Juventus picked up a draw against Atalanta but did Allegri see the glass half full or empty? Why did he make substitutions so late in the game?

“The team was playing well and we conceded a goal from a set-piece. The glass is half full anyway. It’s not easy to play against Atalanta, it was a good draw. Even if they have a game in hand, we are still in front of them. We must continue like this.

“We must remain optimistic, but this doesn’t mean we are happy. The draw against Atalanta will be exceptional if we win tomorrow. The extraordinary thing about football is that a draw looks like a defeat, but every point counts at the end of the season.

“I’d like to win every game, but it’s difficult. Even a draw is important, you can win or lose the title for one point.”

How about Morata? Will Allegri ask the club to make his move permanent at the end of the season?

“Morata is doing well, it’s crazy to question his technical abilities,” insisted the coach.

“He is doing well, but now we must be focused on the moment. We have the last three months of the season and we need to achieve something extraordinary. In June, we’ll see.”

Allegri spoke about Torino’s DNA, but what’s the identity of his Juventus side?

“I think that personal targets have been put aside, focusing on the team. We’ve been together for six-seven months now. We are knowing each other a little more, we feel more like a team.”

In his reply, Allegri didn’t mention Cristiano Ronaldo but was likely referring to his exit when he said that ‘personal targets have been put aside.’

“There is enthusiasm and desire to win even if it will be very difficult this season,” Allegri continued.

“We have important targets. Tomorrow’s match is crucial for our season because then we need to prepare for another game with Villareal in the Champions League, which will be completely different from the one of tomorrow.”

What does he make of the first four Champions League matches played this week, specifically the match between Liverpool and Inter yesterday?

“Inter must be praised for their performance, it was a great game, but they played against a very experienced team with players accustomed to playing big matches and Champions League Finals.

“Champions League has slightly changed because of the away goal rule. There is a gap, but anything can happen in Europe. However, the English clubs, PSG, Bayern and Real Madrid are the main candidates to win the tournament, but this doesn’t matter that others can’t have the ambition to win it.”