Juventus star Federico Chiesa says he’d like to replay the World Cup play-off between Italy and North Macedonia and hopes he can help the Old Lady in the second part of the season along with Dusan Vlahovic.
The Italy international has recently returned to action from a severe knee injury suffered in January 2022 in an away game at Roma.
His recovery path was followed by Juventus’ Creator Lab who put together a documentary that will be released on Amazon Prime on February 3.
“There were many tough moments, but the worst was when doctors confirmed an anterior cruciate ligament injury,” Chiesa said in an interview with La Gazzetta dello Sport.
“I had to overcome many obstacles over the last 10 months, the target seemed far away, but I never gave up. I’ve always been aware that I wanted to continue playing. I am accustomed to overcoming difficulties and I’ve always done it in my career.
“At the beginning, the pain was so intense that I even struggled to get up from bad,” he continued.
“Now I can say that it was useful because I’ve matured. Go to the pitch every day, do more workouts and see small improvements day by day. This helped me on a human level.”
The Italy international and Vlahovic have never played together at Juventus given that the Serbian arrived two weeks after Chiesa’s injury last year.
“Dusan and I have had some problems, but we were on good terms at Fiorentina and I hope the same happens at Juventus,” said Chiesa.
“I am sorry I was not there against Monza, especially because Vlahovic and Pogba were back. I had a flexor problem but nothing worrying. I will be back in Coppa Italia against Lazio.”
Vlahovic has also been dealing with physical issues and played his first match in three months last weekend, coming off the bench against Monza.
The Bianconeri have been docked 15 points for the current campaign for financial irregularities and lost 2-0 against the Brianzoli on Sunday, causing Max Allegri’s anger.
“The coach is right, we must give our best, we didn’t do it in the last few games, but we are trying to improve,” admitted Chiesa.
“We were no longer aggressive and we conceded too much.”
Would he like to become the Juventus captain one day?
“I don’t think about it. I want to be fit and help the team. We have young players such as Fagioli and Miretti and obviously Locatelli.
“Time will tell the rest. We don’t have the same experience as Chiellini or Bonucci, but we must only focus on the pitch.”
Which is the game that he missed during his injury and that he’d like to play again?
“The one against North Macedonia because I’d want to help my teammates. Unfortunately, it wasn’t possible and now we target Euro 2024.”