The news of Paulo Dybala’s latest injury, his sixth of the season so far, has raised further question marks about his Juventus future, because he’s missed 13 games already this term.
Coach Max Allegri announced in today’s press conference that La Joya would also miss Sunday’s Serie A meeting with Spezia.
He had been expected to make his comeback from yet another muscular problem, but suffered a relapse in training on Friday.
That was the sixth different injury that Dybala has sustained in the 2021-22 season.
They are rarely serious lesions, it is more a stop-start pattern of brief returns and new setbacks that mean he can never put together any consistent performances or regular playing time.
With his contract set to expire on June 30 and reports Juventus have decided to offer a lower salary than the originally-agreed €10m per season plus bonuses, his future remains in doubt.
It is no surprise to anyone that the Bianconeri decided the contract proposal should have a lower set figure and the rest be linked to performance-related bonuses.
That means if Dybala’s injury worries continue and he makes relatively few appearances in future, the club won’t have to pay as much out in terms of salary.
It’s enough to make a big difference, considering Dybala missed 25 games between 2015 and 2020, but last season skipped 21 due to injury and so far this term has already been ruled out of 13 competitive matches.